


Press Start

by dxtr



Series: Press Start [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, M/M, rtahbigbang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-25
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 17:33:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 59,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2200734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dxtr/pseuds/dxtr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael Jones has been an AI on the Starship Galacticraft since he was twelve and has secured his place in the Top Five Achievement Hunters. Five years later he gets a new Gamer, a friendly, though annoying, British boy named Gavin, and Michael convinces himself there's no harm in beginning a friendship. Unfortunately for Michael, though, it doesn't remain just a friendship for long. In a world where Gamers and AIs are forbidden to have relationships, the pair risks everything to be together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made this story as part of the rtahbigbang on tumblr and I got to say I'm so glad I decided to join in. The deadline forced me to finish the fic, since I'm absolutely terrible at finishing stories I begin. Thanks rtahbigbang.tumblr.com (officialgavinofree.tumblr.com) for putting it together and thanks a bunch to davestrider123.tumblr.com for making the fabulous art for my story. :3

[ ](http://s155.photobucket.com/user/loloroxbabe/media/tumblr_nad6jfo4wE1qe00wso1_1280_zps1ffc7a9f.png.html)

 

He heard screaming, vaguely remembered the shadow of a person yelling at him and the world falling to rubble, the sidewalk cracking open and exposing the dark abyss beneath.

When Michael’s eyes flew open, he looked around wildly, drinking in his surroundings. He was in a long rectangular room filled with beds arranged in two rows facing each other, about eight on each side. The walls were silvery chrome, as was the floor and ceiling. He was sitting in bed wearing his beige jumpsuit and sitting in front of him, with his hands on Michael’s shoulders, was another boy. He was about sixteen years old, black hair, brown eyes, and glasses. “Michael? You okay, buddy?” Michael nodded.

“Yeah, Ray, I’m fine.” Ray dropped his hands but still lingered on the bed and stared at Michael. “I’m fucking fine. Jesus, Ray, relax.” Ray rolled his eyes and jumped to his feet.

“Says the guy who cries himself to sleep every night.”

“Bite me.” Michael pulled off his blankets and stood up as well, stretching his arms above his head and letting out a sigh of content. He grabbed his glasses off the shelf beside his bed and slid them onto his face.

“You don’t want to pick fights with the Puerto Rican,” Ray warned and Michael smirked.

“Bring it on, bitch. I’m fucking Mogar.”

“Ay, Mogar, X-Ray, you lads wanna come get breakfast?” Michael looked over to the entryway and saw a man leaned against the wall with an identical jumpsuit and a mustache that reminded Michael of old-school melodramas.

“Hell yeah,” Michael said, pushing Ray playfully as made his way past him and to the new arrival. Michael looked around the man and to the empty hallway behind him. “Where’re Jack and Ryan?”

“They’re meeting us at the Reef.”

“Morning, Geoffrey,” Ray greeted as he joined the two men.

“Sup, asshole. Can we go now? I’m hungry as fuck.”

“Whoa, Geoff! Language. There’re kids around.”

“Not my kid, not my problem,” Geoff mumbled. Michael let out a soft laugh as Geoff pushed himself off the wall. Ray and Michael followed him and they walked back down the small hallway toward the main corridor. Once they reached it, the space was filled with people milling about. Some were stood against the walls chatting, others were rushing off in one direction or the other, but the majority was marching off toward the Refectory. The three men made their way to the middle of the crowd, following the heard toward food. As they passed one of the large, thick windows that littered the hallway, Michael looked out at the deep, black, void of space.

Okay, so wasn’t exactly void. It was too early to see Earth from that particular window, but he could see a small sliver of the moon. When he was young, he used to believe there was a man that lived on the surface who fished for stars. He even told his mom that when he grew up, he was going to live there and fish for stars, too. Now that he was closer, though, he couldn’t really see why anyone would want to live there. It was just a rock. Arguably so was Earth, but at least Earth had oxygen. The moon was still a comforting sight, though. It reminded him of home.

The space wasn’t necessarily black either.  Even when the large, blue-brown-green, swirling mass of planet wasn’t in view, the stars seemed to glow from far off in the Milky Way and other surrounding galaxies. Sometimes he saw cyans and violets and salmons and golds. But right now, all Michael could see was black with white specks. He really needed some coffee.

They followed to the right as the corridor split and the walkway opened into a giant room, a little smaller than the size of a football field. It had the same metal walls as the rest of the spacecraft, though there were marquees spaced around the room advertising the Leader Board. Last week Michael had secured his second place position once again, beaten only by Ray. But it wasn’t a competition, at least not between Michael and his friends. Although some others took the Leaders Boards way too seriously, Michael didn’t really give a shit. If you asked him, all he wanted to do was complete his time and go back to Earth. It’s not like Galacticraft was a prison or anything; he just missed the little things. Grass. Clouds. Non-simulated gravity. The usual.

The men followed the crowd to the center of the room and to a six-foot tall wall that ran a few feet down the middle of the room. Michael grabbed one of the clear, blue glass trays from a stack in front of the wall and refrained from bouncing on his heels as he waited his turn. “Next,” a monotone, vaguely female voice called out and Michael surged forward. He waited semi-patiently for the screen to continue. “IC, please.” A blue light materialized on the wall and traced out a small rectangular shape, almost as if making an incision on the wall, before the rectangle popped out and revealed a two-by-four sized tray. Michael rolled back his right sleeve and took the small chip out of the inside of his wristband and placed it on top of the tray. “Please wait for your evaluation.”

“Of course. And if you don’t mind me saying, Interface, you are looking lovely today.”

“Evaluation complete. High sodium levels detected.” Michael could hear Geoff snicker behind him and it took all of his willpower not to turn around and scowl at him. So instead he scowled at Interface. Michael took back his IC and placed it back into his wristband. The tray dissolved back into the wall and a cube opened up in its place. “Tray, please.” Michael shoved his tray into place and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for his breakfast. “Please take your tray, Michael Jones.” Michael grumbled incoherently as he grabbed his tray of food and turned back toward the rest of the room. He walked toward the back corner, figuring Jack and Ryan would be at their regular table, and smiled easily when he found his other friends.

“Hey, Gents,” Michael greeted. Both men were about ten or so years older than Michael and Ray, who were still teenagers, but they all got along great. They’d met a couple years ago when the younger lads had just arrived and the gents were to be their mentors. Michael had been paired with Ryan, a father of two who lived on a farm back on Earth. Ryan was easy enough to get along with, although sometimes he got a little crazy and talked about putting creatures in holes. The guys joked about it just being Space Madness, but sometimes Michael worried for Ryan’s animals at home, especially a cow he had apparently named Edgar.

Then there was Jack, Ray’s mentor. He’d just gotten married before he’d been drafted to Starship Galacticraft to an Australian woman named Caiti. He was a carpenter and one of the most genuinely caring people he’d ever met.

Geoff came along with the two, having been friends with Ryan and Jack before Michael and Ray had been recruited to join Responsive Technology and the AI Program.

Together, Michael, Ray, Geoff, Jack, and Ryan were known as the Achievement Hunters, since they held the top ranks on the Leader Board every week.

“Morning, Michael,” Ryan said and Jack nodded over his cup of coffee. Soon after, Ray joined, then Geoff. The men all chatted and joked around as they ate their breakfast until Michael’s arm began to vibrate. Michael finished shoving his eggs into his mouth before dropping his fork and taking a look at his wristband. He pressed his thumb and pointer finger on either side of the middle bar and awaited a message to pop up. REPORT TO THE FLOOR ROOM IMMEDIATELY. Michael sighed and looked at his tray. He was only about half way through his food. Maybe if he just waited another few minutes to finish? He grabbed a slice of toast and began to put it in his mouth when his wrist shook again, causing him to get a cheek full of toast.

“Fine,” he muttered, forcefully shoving his toast into his mouth before standing up. “A gotgo to’a Floor,” he said through his chipmunk cheeks. “Fum’n row th’sit away.” He pointed at his tray, then gestured to the guys. “L see yuh layer,” he called out as he walked away, making his way back out of the Reef and back to the main corridor.

He walked back up stream for a bit until he reached the narrow walkway that lead off to the left and sighed as he could once again hear his own thoughts. Sometimes the crowded ship got on his nerves. It wasn’t that he didn’t like other people; he just needed room to breathe every now and then.

Michael followed the pathway until it ended and the chrome walls slid open. On the other side was a small boxy room. Michael stepped inside and the wall closed back behind him. “Michael Jones. You have been requested by the Commander to report to the Floor Room. I will take you there now.” Michael rolled his eyes. Interface was another thing that got on his nerves.  

The walls opened once more a moment later and revealed a short hallway. “The Floor,” Interface announced. Michael stepped out of the room and over to where a man, stood at the end near an opening, was holding a thick piece of glass about eight by ten inches in size.

“Michael Jones,” Michael began as he reached the man, but instead of responding he held the glass up to Michael’s face. “What, you don’t recognize me yet, Gus?”

“Shut up,” the man said. A moment later, Michael saw his face flash on the glass screen, as well as a bunch of information from his files. “You’re getting a new Gamer today.”

“Yeah, I know.” Gus typed something out on the screen and a window popped up.

“Your new code is 4948.”

“You’re not going to give me anything to write it down with?” Gus glared at Michael.

“Repeat it back to me.”

“How am I supposed to remember it if I don’t have-”

“Just repeat it, Jones.”

“4948. You need some vacation time, Gus,” Michael said as he passed the man and entered the room beyond.

“Don’t I fucking know it,” he heard Gus mutter. The new room was about the same size as the Refectory, but instead of a rectangle it was built like an amphitheater. There were about ten levels with shallow glass staircases that lead you up to the top. On each level, spread a few feet from each other, were pods, lain out like old tanning beds. Next to the head of each pod was a keypad and small scanner. Extending above the pad was a small light, about an inch in diameter, that glowed green if a person was in a session and was turned off if the pod was vacant.

 Michael made his way through them, going to the third level and to the fourth pod on his left, which had been his for the past five years and would be as long as he was to stay on Starship Galacticraft. Michael placed his hand on his scanner and waited for the familiar _ding_ that meant he was himself and told him to enter is access code for the session. Michael quickly jabbed the buttons for his new Gamer and after getting another _ding_ , the pod opened up.

Michael reached down onto the bed like surface and grabbed the pair of black gloves that lay there for him. He slid his hands inside and flexed his finger before stretching out all his muscles. He would be getting a new Gamer today and even though most players spend their first session getting set up and going through the tutorial, sessions had the capability of running for up to five hours. He had to be ready if that ended up being the case.

After he prepped himself, Michael laid himself out on the mat and he closed the pod door over him. This was the part Michael always hated. There was always a moment before the drift started where the inside of the pod was pitch black and Michael could feel his breath hitting the lid of the pod. It was what he imagined being buried alive would feel like. Michael always had to calm himself down and remind himself that he was fine. Soon enough the screen would light up and he’d be sent into the session.

And it did. And he was.

Michael felt like he was floating. This part of the drift was his favorite. He felt like his was lying on a cloud. Weightless.

And then he was standing in what looked like a bedroom. It was a normal enough room. Blue walls, a bed on top of a sort of raised up loft. Underneath that loft was a desk. A dresser was shoved against one wall and in the middle of the room was a small floor rocking chair. And sitting on that chair was a boy. Dark blond hair that stuck up at every angle. Green eyes. A nose that took over half his face. So this was his new Gamer, huh? “Please state your tag for further identification,” Michael stated, a standard line he’d been forced to use when his previous, “Sup? What do I call you?” was apparently way too informal.

“GavinoFree,” the boy responded in a thick British accent. Michael blinked in surprise. He’d been on Starship Galacticraft for five years now and this was his first time working with someone from the U.K.

“Hello, GavinoFree. I’m your new AI. Shall we get started?”


	2. Chapter 2

“What do I call you?” GavinoFree asked once they’d settled in. The Brit had insisted on skipping the tutorial, which was fine by Michael since his Gamer seemed to already know the basic controls, but that’s where Michael’s luck ended. The first part of their game, _Enchantment Level 30_ , was a basic starter mission; they had to find a key hidden in the forest in order to enter Cloudberry, the vast kingdom where the game was rooted. Unfortunately, GavinoFree decided he would rather run around the forest and shoot arrows at NPCs than find said key. Michael took a deep, calming breath.

“You’re supposed to head to the waterfall. Take a left.”

“Nah. This is better,” he said making a weird squeaking noise when he shot a guy in the head, knocking him off his horse. Michael looked over from his position by the wall to the boy, who was staring very intently at the screen and smiling widely. “So, name?” Michael glared at him. Was this how it was going to be? Finishing this game was going to take a fucking year.

Michael touched the pad in his hand, an identical one to the pad Gus had earlier, and quickly changed a few codes in the game so there were no more random guys running around. Maybe then they could get to the goddamn waterfall. GavinoFree ran around a bit, looking for more people to shoot. “Where’s everyone gone?” he asked.

“I don’t know, maybe you shot them all,” Michael deadpanned before he could bite his tongue. He shouldn’t have said that. Michael already had a reputation for getting a little frustrated during games. When he’d arrived at Starship Galacticraft and gotten his first Gamer, Michael had spent the entire two hours screaming curses at the guy. Once the Commander had found out, he’d terminated any further sessions and had Michael go through anger classes. He was now known around the starship as Michael “Ragequit” Jones.

He should’ve known better. Michael wasn’t new to being an AI and he’d learned pretty quickly to keep his comments at bay. He always held himself back and let out all of his snide remarks back on the ship. So why hadn’t he just now?

Michael sat quietly, waited for his Gamer’s response. He didn’t have to wait long, and when he heard the other boy let out an easy laugh, well, it confused Michael. Instead of dwelling on it though, he decided to change the subject. “Ready to head to that cave now?”

“We’re getting there, you donut! I’m taking the bloody scenic route.” Michael blinked. _Donut_? “And you still haven’t told me your name.”

“Why do you want to know my name?” asked Michael. Typically, AIs didn’t have “names,” at least as far as their Gamers were concerned. Not that it was a bad thing to tell them their names, Gamers just called them AI, or something of that nature. Sometimes Michael got called Computer, which really pissed him off. He wasn’t a computer. Technically he wasn’t an Artificial Intelligence either, but since he was being telepathically hologrammed into people’s homes, he was willing to overlook that one.

Michael looked over at GavinoFree in time to see the boy scrunch up his face at the question. “Why wouldn’t I? We’re going to be together till we finish the game. I’ve got to call you something, don’t I? Have you not got a name?”

“Why wouldn’t I have a name?” Michael asked. He knew he should just tell GavinoFree his name, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking. He wanted to know what the guy would say.

“I don’t know. Maybe you were raised by squirrels.”

“ _Squirrels?_ Yeah, I was raised by _squirrels._ My name’s Squeaky Squeakerton, nice to meet you.” Michael laughed. “ _Fucking squirrels_.” Michael knew he was pushing his luck, joking around with the guy and cursing, but he felt comfortable. Plus, GavinoFree was laughing along. The Commander would never know unless a complaint was filed by either the Gamer or the AI. And GavinoFree didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Squeaky Squeakerton? What the hell kind of name is that?”

“What did you expect a squirrel to be named?”

“I don’t know. Peanut?”

“PEANUT?!”

“Yeah, squirrels like nuts, don’t they?” GavinoFree asked as he made his character climb a random tree. The cave was literally twenty feet to the left. So. Fucking. Close.

“Yeah, squirrels like nuts, but they don’t speak fucking English. How is a squirrel going to name someone Peanut if it can’t speak fucking English?”

“Oh.” Fucking _oh_. Who was this guy? “So what’s your name then?” Michael rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling.

“Michael.”

“Michael,” repeated GavinoFree, but his stupid British accent butchered the name, making it sound like MI-COO. “Hi, Michael.”

“Hey, GavinoFree.” Michael looked over at his Gamer and saw him shaking his head.

“Just call me Gavin.”

“Alright. Gavin,” Michael said. He felt slightly weird about calling his Gamer by his first name. It seemed too friendly and familiar for the setting, but at the same time it was kind of nice. Michael stole a glance sideways at Gavin and saw him smiling widely at the screen. Did this guy ever stop smiling? Michael looked back at the wall screen to see Gavin aiming his bow at the sky. “What are you doing?” A second later Gavin shot an arrow, nailing a bird on the first attempt.

“Oh, yes. Did you see that? Just like Mark Nutt.”

“Who the hell is Mark Nutt?”

“Who is- you don’t know Mark Nutt?” Gavin asked, looked at Michael as though he had three heads. “He’s an Olympic gold medalist in archery.” Michael mirrored his expression.

“Why would I know that? Why do _you_ know that?”

“Everyone knows that!”

“You are literally the only person on any planet that knows that. I don’t even know if it’s fucking true.”

“It is! Mark Nutt is a champion archer. I’ll prove it to you some time.”

“Yeah, alright.”

XXX

“How do I grab things again?”

“Circle, then spread out.” Michael watched Gavin’s hand as he mirrored the instructions, first tracing a circle on his pad with his finger, then touching the surface with all five fingertips and spreading them outward. Michael had finally gotten Gavin to go to the waterfall, but instead of going behind it and to the cave, he jumped in the water and started swimming around. And now he was grabbing for a- “FIIIIIIIIIIIIIISHH!” Gavin cried out as his character held up a large pink fish.  Michael rolled his eyes for about the thirtieth time.

“ _That’s_ what you’ve been trying to do for the past ten minutes? Catch a fish?”

“Has it really been ten minutes? Bloody hell.”

“Can we please just go to the damn cave already?”

“Yeah, alright,” Gavin said, dropping his FIIIIIIIISH. He then began to swim toward the cascading water and underneath where, get this, a cave was hiding! And what was inside that cave, you may ask? A fucking chest with a fucking key inside. Incredible.

“Hey, Michael?” asked Gavin after they’d left the water and were now making the journey to the kingdom gates. Michael hummed for him to continue. “Is there a way for you to play as well?” Michael raised a brow at the boy. “I mean, like, with your own character.” Michael blinked.

“I mean… yeah… I guess?” He’d never been asked to play with a Gamer before. He’d never even thought of that as an option.

“You should do it. That’d be top.”

“Alright,” Michael agreed, still shocked at the idea. “How about we start that next session?”

“Ye.”

XXX

A beeping sound thrilled through Michael’s brain, dulling in and out like a lighthouse beam, signaling that their session had run out. “You ready to stop for the day?” Michael asked. They’d just reached the kingdom gates and Gavin was about to use the key to unlock them.

“Already?”

“Yeah, dude, we’ve been playing for a while.”

“I thought sessions went for up to five hours.”

“They do. Look at your clock. It’s fucking 9:30.”

“ _Jesus_. When did that happen?” Gavin looked at the screen for a moment before looking over to Michael. “Can I at least open the gate before we quit?” Michael, after having played with the Brit for five hours and thinking that they’d never reach the Kingdom at all, smiled.

“Yeah, boi. Pop that thing open.” Gavin made his character raise the key slowly, ever so dramatically, whispering, “Tease it, tease it,” until he finally put it in and turned his hand till the lock clicked and the gates swung open. Michael was just about to turn off the game, but Gavin surged forward, running through the gates. “Gavin, no!” Michael cried, but it was too late. About fifty guards spawned from the ground, brandished their swords, and snarled at Gavin, ready to attack. Gavin let out a squealy scream. “God fucking dammit,” Michael muttered before quickly tapping on his pad. The guards all froze and melted back into the floor before a title screen blew up in the middle.

Gavin let out a sigh of relief, and Michael glared at him. “You idiot.” Gavin put down his pad.

“You didn’t tell me I’d be attacked as soon as I walked through the gates, you bloody sausage!”

“What did you think was going to happen?” Michael cried. “The King’s not going to roll out a fucking red carpet for you!”

“Well,” Gavin said, voice back to a conversational volume. Michael rolled his eyes.

“Alright. I got to get back to the ship.”

“Okay. Play again tomorrow?”

“Whenever you want,” Michael said as he stood up, his pad disappearing.

“Tomorrow, then. What time’s good for you?”

“ _Whenever you want_ , Gavin. That’s kind of the point of this.” Michael had never had a Gamer who asked him about when he’d be free to play. The whole point of being an AI was that they played with the Gamers on their own time.

“Alright. After school then. Same time as today.” Michael nodded.

“Sounds good. Later, Gavin.”

“Bye, Michael.” And with that, the image of Gavin’s bedroom swirled away and in its place was a soft glow, and then utter darkness. Michael lay in his pod for a moment, flexing his fingers as he thought about the session he’d just had. Gavin was…interesting. He wasn’t the best gamer, and he liked to screw around rather than play the actual game, but Michael had to admit there was something about Gavin that was different than other Gamers. He’d asked what Michael’s name was, for starters. And he’d wondered what the best time was for their next session. Not to mention him wanting Michael to play with him. In-game.

Michael let out a long breath as he reached his right hand up to the lid of the pod and pushed up, letting the dim light from the Floor Room in and releasing him from his coffin. Michael didn’t know what the rest of their time would be like, but he had a feeling he was going to like being Gavin’s AI.

With thoughts of the new Gamer still in his brain, Michael left the Floor and went to go find the rest of the Achievement Hunters.


	3. Chapter 3

“Where’s Ray?” Jack asked as the AH crew settled into their usual table in the Reef.

“Floor,” said Michael, smirked as he attempted to cut his meat.

“Oh, God. Is his Gamer still being an asshole?”

“Oh yeah. Yesterday the dick gave him a fucking lecture about how to shoot people in _Twelve Towers_. Like the guy doesn’t realize that Ray’s the fucking AI and knows how to play the game better than anyone else. And Ray just has to sit there and take it up the ass.”

“Fucking brag about it,” Geoff said before taking a long swig from his glass.

“How’s the water, Geoff?” Ryan asked.

“Tastes like fucking poison,” Geoff muttered. Back home Geoff used to drink alcohol. A lot. And unfortunately for him, Galacticraft had very strict rules about drinking. 1. You could only drink in the on-ship bar. 2. You were only allowed to visit the bar up to once a week. 3. There was a three drink limit. Needless to say, Geoff wasn’t too happy about it in the beginning. After being on the ship for a few years, though, he’d gotten used to it and even admitted that he felt better without it. Sometimes the guys liked to tease him about it, though.

“Maybe Interface slipped you something,” said Ryan. Michael smiled, but it didn’t stay on his face long. He was still wrestling with his slab of steak and it was starting to get the better of him.

“She totally would, too, that cunt.”

“Fuck it,” Michael growled. He stabbed the beef with his fork and hauled it up to his lips, taking a large, carnivorous bite.

“Speaking of Gamers, tell us about the newbie.”

“Jack, please, I’m eating.” Michael chewed his meat for a while, sighing as his jaw started to hurt. Finally, he swallowed.

“So?”

“Jesus Christ, Jack, _alright_. I got some British guy.”

“ _Oooh_ , British. Does he have a sexy accent?” Geoff joked.

“The sexiest. We spent the whole time banging.”

“Is that what you were doing? I was wondering why you were gone all day.”

“Seriously, did you guys play for the whole five hours?” Ryan asked. Michael shrugged.

“Yeah. We’re doing _Enchantment Level 30_.”

“Aw that game’s fun as dicks,” Geoff interjected.

“Well, it’s fun if you actually play the game. He likes to fuck around and jizz in the forest instead of doing the actual quests.”

“Oh, he’s one of _those_ Gamers.”

“Yeah, I had to recode the damn thing a couple of times.” Michael knew he was only telling them the bad and annoying things about his new Gamer, but for some reason he wanted to keep Gavin to himself. He felt like Gavin was special, even if he gave Michael an ulcer. He promised he’d tell the guys more later; he wanted to time to get to know the Brit better, first.

“That sucks, dude. Gonna be a long game run, huh?” Michael smiled and nodded his head, but he thought maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing

XXX

Michael was ripped from sleep when his wrist began to vibrate violently. The AI groaned and squinted in the darkness at his wristband, blearily catching the word ‘FLOOR.’ Michael sighed and closed his eyes again, wanting to tear off the band and go back to sleep. He felt exhausted. A moment later it vibrated again, sending a jolt all the way up to his shoulder. “ _Okay_ ,” Michael growled under his breath, mindful enough in his tired state not to wake up everyone else in the room.

However, when he swung his legs over the mattress and stood up, Michael heard a crunch. Michael squeezed his eyes shut. _No_ , he thought. _For the love of god please no._ Michael looked down and picked up his foot, revealing his glasses whose left lens was now thoroughly cracked. “ _God fucking dammit_ ,” Michael seethed. “Are you kidding me?”

“Dude, shut up,” Ray mumbled from the bed beside him. Michael glared at the portion of his head that was visible over his blanket.

“I swear to god Ray I will fucking murder you if you tell me to shut up again.” Ray’s response was unintelligible, so he elected to ignore it. Michael’s wrist began to vibrate again, making his entire arm jolt out to the right and barely miss his bedside shelf. “ _I’m coming god dammit_ ,” Michael breathed. He looked at his broken glasses for a moment before turning and leaving the bunk in dejected frustration.

A few minutes later, Michael had half blindly made his way the lift. “Michael Jones. You have been requested by the Commander to report to the Floor. I will take you there, now.” Michael stifled his groan. It was going to be a long day. Once the doors reopened, Michael stepped out and over to Gus.

“Name?” Gus asked, staring blankly at Michael.

“I need a new pair of glasses,” Michael responded.

“So? Why are you telling me? Name.”

“Because I need new glasses.”

“I’ve told you a million times, get the lenses. Why do you still have glasses? Name.”

“Everyone I know still has glasses.”

“Only you, Narvaez, and Pattillo still have glasses. _Name_.”

“Yeah, and we’re in the top AIs. Ray is _the_ top AI. I think that says something. Maybe we should stop the lens procedure all together.”

“I’m going to schedule you an appointment for lenses if you don’t state your name within the next three seconds.”

“Michael Jones. I’m just saying- sounds like glasses are essential for AI goodness. And I need a new pair.” Gus glared at Michael through his glass pad as he held it up in front of Michael’s face. Michael saw his picture and file pop up on the screen.

“I’ll tell them to put a new pair in your room before you finish your session.” Michael straightened his back.

“That’s more like it.” He walked away from Gus and to his pod, but not before hearing Gus call him an asshole. Michael just snickered.

Once he reached his pod he plugged in the code, climbed in, embraced the darkness, and calmed his breathing. That twinge of fear tugged in his chest, but a moment later he was floating once again, and then he was in Gavin’s bedroom. “Hi, Michael,” Gavin greeted cheerfully. He was sitting in his chair with his pad in his lap.

“Hey, Gavin,” Michael replied.

“Ready to play with me?” Michael blinked. He’d forgotten all about going into the game with Gavin.

“Uh, yeah,” Michael said, quickly tapped away at his pad. He scanned through the coding and began to enter in his own, rewrote the program and added in a second player that he could control with his pad. He wondered if it would work, since he’d never played the games with his AI pad. AI pads were usually only used for manipulating the game, not regular game play. Michael couldn’t see how it would _not_ work, though.

“Alright,” Michael spoke when he was finished. The game started up and he saw Gavin’s character, a scruffy looking man in tattered clothes outside the unlocked gates of the kingdom, with a golden key held in his hand. A moment later another character popped up. His face was similar, but his hair was auburn rather than blond and he didn’t have a scruffy beard like Gavin’s. He was also wearing brown leather clothes, rather than Gavin’s green cloth.

“Is that you?” Gavin asked, making his character walk around Michael’s.

“Yeah, that’s me.” Michael made himself walk along behind Gavin.

“That’s top.” Gavin stopped walking around and looked up at the gate. “Is there another way in?” he asked. Michael gave him a look.

“Dude, you have the key, why do you want another way in? You literally have the easiest way to get in.”

“Oh, I got an idea,” Gavin said, making his character run off to the bank of trees behind them. “Can you even see from over there?” Gavin asked. Michael looked over from his position next to the wall screen. “Get over here you donut. I’ll go steal my brother’s chair.” Michael opened his mouth to refuse, but before he could get a word out Gavin was already halfway out of the room. A moment later Gavin returned with another floor chair and set it down next to his own. Gavin sat back down and went back to his grand idea and Michael, after a few seconds of hesitation, moved into the spot beside him.

“Can I ask you something?” asked Gavin. Michael shook his head slightly, clearing his mind. Gavin really was an interesting Gamer. I mean, having him enter the game alone was unimaginable, but now Gavin was giving him a place to sit. This wasn’t just _unheard of_ ; Michael was sure that had never happened in the history of AIs.

“Yeah, of course,” Michael said, setting his pad in his lap and running to the tree Gavin was currently climbing.

“You’re a hologram, right?”

“Uh, right now I am, yeah.”

“But you can hold stuff and sit down and everything.”

“Yeah.” Where was this going?

“Can you feel it? Like, can you feel yourself sitting down or do you just imagine the feeling of sitting down?”

“I can feel it.”

“Well, how does that work?” Michael stopped controlling his character and bit his lip as he stole a side glance at Gavin. He was still staring intently at the screen, tapping and swirling his fingers on his pad. Michael wondered if he should give up trying to keep count of all the unique things about his new Gamer. He had a feeling they were just going to keep occurring.

“Uh, well, it’s like- in reality, back on Galacticraft, I’m laying down. But there’s a ton of sensors all over the pod I’m inside, which connect me to my projected self here. I use my thoughts to control this body just like I would with my regular body and the sensors send waves to my brain and let me feel things from this body.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, though. How would you be able to feel things? The hologram body you’re in now isn’t a real body.” Michael was quiet. He had a point. Ray’s voice rang in his head. _Fucking got ‘em_.

“Dude, I don’t know how it works, it just does. I can feel shit.” Michael grabbed his pad and began to move around in the game again, only stopping when he felt a sharp pain in his upper arm. “Ow, what the hell, Gavin?” Michael cried before leaning over to punch the Brit. Gavin let out a garbled squawk.

“I wanted to see if you’d feel it.”

“I just told you I would feel it! We literally _just_ had this conversation about me begin able to feel shit!”

“Yeah but I can’t just bloody accept that, can I? You don’t even know how it works.”

“Do you know rocket science, Gavin? No! But people go in and out of space every fucking month! Shut the hell up.” Gavin laughed beside him as he let out a deep breath. Michael wondered if he should cool it with the language. Sure, Gavin was absolutely fine with it, but Gavin wasn’t going to be his Gamer forever.

“Alright, here we go,” Gavin spoke softly. Michael switched views on his pad so he was looking out of Gavin’s point of view rather than his own and saw Gavin inching toward the end of a tall branch, mere feet away from the kingdom gates. “Ready, and…LEAP OF KINGDOMS!” Gavin cried out as he leapt from the branch, soaring through the sky, closer to the gates- only to drop twenty feet and splat on the ground in front of them. Gavin let out a tiny squeal. Michael looked over at him and saw Gavin staring at the screen with wide eyes. He looked like he was trying to hide a grin.

“You’re an idiot.” Gavin tried to keep his lips in a tight line but they were twitching in the corners.

“Michael, can you respawn me?”

“I dunno, Gavin. Are you going to jump out of a fucking tree again?” Michael smirked as he began to tap at his pad, opening back up the encryptions and respawning Gavin’s character.

“Cheers, Michael.”

“Can we just go inside already?”

“Fine, let’s be boring,” Gavin spoke. He made his way to the gates and unlocked them, headily stepping onto the grounds, much like the previous day. Instantly, fifty guards appeared, all turning to look at Gavin as they pulled out their swords. Gavin made another shrill noise and Michael rolled his eyes as the boy started trying to fend off the myriad of knights. “Michael, help!” he cried as a guard cut Gavin’s arm with his blade.

“Still think this is the boring way?” Michael asked, making his way into the kingdom.

“ _Ahh, Michael_!” Gavin yelled.

“I’m fucking coming!” Michael yelled back, racing to his rescue. Michael, having played ‘Enchantment Level 30’ numerous times, sliced through the crowd and took down guard after guard. Finally, Michael found himself next to Gavin, who was nearly slaughtered himself. “God dammit, Gavin,” Michael muttered, taking his sword and chopping off the guard’s arm, not even waiting for it to drop completely before thrusting his blade through the gap in the man’s armor and using his leg to shove him off his blade.

“Stand back,” he said, pushing Gavin aside as he went after another guard who had appeared behind Gavin. Michael swung his sword above his head before bring it down and slicing the knight’s head clear off his body. “Is that all of them?” Michael asked, looking around quickly to make sure they were once again alone, save the bodies that littered the ground.

“You are my lovely little boy, Michael.”

“Come here; let me check out your cuts.” Gavin moved his character closer to Michael’s and Michael did some quick coding to fix up his arm. Sometimes the fact that the game was so realistic could be a pain in the ass. Usually if you get cut, you have to visit an in-game medic to treat it. Thankfully AIs can fix that with a few taps, an incentive placed in the game to make players take advantage of the AI Program. Gavin looked around at the bodies.

“Bloody hell, Michael. That was incredible.”

“Yeah, well, they don’t call me Mogar for nothing,” he responded, wiping the blood off his blade on a fallen guard’s clothes. Gavin laughed.

“Mogar?”

“Yeah, dude, that’s my warrior name. I’m the fucking Mighty Mogar.”

“Mogar sliced up those bastards.”

“Well, yeah, I had to save your ass, didn’t I.”  

XXX

Michael found himself lying in his pod after the session, the events replaying in his mind. He and Gavin had just finished playing, another full five hours, and he had to admit that he was having a lot of fun with the Gamer.  

After Michael had finished repairing Gavin’s character, the Brit decided he wanted to go find some horses to ride. This led to the pair running around the outskirts of the kingdom until they found a small farm, and then Gavin killed the farmer because he walked inside the house, the man saw him, and “it would be awkward to just run back outside and steal his horses.” After that, more guards came after them and Michael had to summon Mogar once more.

He sighed to himself. Michael never thought he’d meet a Gamer who would turn out to be his friend. And although he was happy they got along so well, he couldn’t help but wonder if their budding relationship was a good thing. Michael was an AI, which meant that they’d only be friends for as long as it took to finish _Enchantment_. Then Michael would be sent to another Gamer and Gavin would get a new AI for his next game. _At least I can have fun and be myself for the time being_ , Michael thought.

Michael put up his hands, pushed up the lid of his pod, swung his legs over the edge, and sat up as he rubbed his hands over his eyes. “You alright, buddy?” The voice made Michael jump, and when he looked up he saw a man with a handlebar mustache smiling at him.

“Jesus, Geoff.”

“Sorry, man. I got out and saw your light turn off.” Michael glanced over his shoulder at the small light that hung above his pod, as well as everyone else’s, that signaled if they were in a session or not. “Long sesh?” Geoff asked. Michael shook his head.

“Nah, my eyes just sting a little.” Michael had been without his glasses for a while and, although he didn’t need them during game time, his eyes hurt as he looked around the large Floor Room. Everything was blurry except for Geoff and the next pod over. “How long were you in for?”

“Like three hours. You?”

“Five.”

“Damn, dude. You two always going to have full sessions?” Michael shrugged.  It sure did seem that way, but at the same time it was only their second day playing together. Michael blinked. He had a hard time believing he’d only met Gavin _yesterday_ when they were already talking like best friends. “Well, hey, can we go get some food? I’m fucking starving.” The moment Geoff said food Michael’s stomach growled.

“Hell yeah. Let’s stop by my bunk first, though, so I can get my glasses.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, buddy, ready to play some games?” Michael asked. Gavin smiled and nodded his head.

“Oh, yes, Michael.” Michael sat down in his chair beside Gavin again and began tapping away at his pad to launch the game. Gavin loaded first, standing in front of a post with two horses tied to it. He was spawned near what looked like a small cement house, and a bit beyond was tiny market. Everything else was greenery. “Michael, where are you?” Gavin asked as he mounted his horse.

“I’m coming, Gavin, relax.” A moment later Michael’s character appeared.

“Alright. Let’s go kill some bastards,” Gavin said, trying to get his horse to move.

“Well, we got to go to talk to someone first.” Michael argued. Gavin was still trying to move his horse and Michael rolled his eyes. “You might want to fucking untie the reigns.” Michael quickly undid his own horse’s reigns and then Gavin’s.

“Cheers, boy,” said Gavin. “C’mon, Grisham.”

“Grisham?”

“Yeah, that’s my horse’s name. What’s yours called?” Michael hoped up on the back of his horse and led him away from the post.

“Uh, Hidalgo.” Gavin laughed. “Alright, let’s go see the Time Wizard.”

“The Time Wizard?”

“Yeah, we need to see him before we can get closer to the castle. He’s going to tell us ingredients he needs to make a potion for us.”

“What does the potion do?”

“It makes us invisible so we can sneak into the castle.”

“We get to be invisible? Top.”

The pair left the post and led their horses to the market just down the dirt road where Michael haggled a man for some dried meat and berries. “Ready to go see the Wizard?” Michael asked and Gavin nodded. Michael led the way, half expected Gavin to charge in front of him and chase a butterfly or some shit. Actually, Gavin had grown pretty quiet and Michael wondered if everything was okay. “You want me to find a quicker path?” he asked the Brit.

“If you want. You’re the expert.” Michael had his character keep his pace, but he decided there was something definitely wrong with Gavin; he wasn’t trying to fuck anything up. Michael looked over at Gavin and saw that his lids looked heavy and his eyes looked distant. Michael stopped controlling his character and angled himself in his chair so he was facing Gavin. The Gamer kept moving his character for about thirty seconds when he finally realized Michael wasn’t in front of him anymore. Gavin blinked and looked over at Michael. “Why’d you stop? What’s wrong?”

“You tell me,” Michael said. Gavin shook his head.

“Nothing I’m just tired.”

“Bullshit. I’ve seen you tired and all you do is grab a fucking Red Bull. So what’s going on with you?” Gavin looked at Michael for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he shook his head slightly and put his pad down in his lap.

“Just school shit, you know how it is.”

“Yeah, man, school blows,” Michael said, but when Gavin didn’t say anything else he grabbed his pad and made his character move ahead again. He could feel Gavin’s eyes on him.

“Michael,” Gavin said, sounding more like a question and Michael stared hard at the screen. He really didn’t want to talk about himself but he had a feeling where this was going. “How old were you when you became an AI?”

“Twelve.” He said after a moment. He could still feel his Gamer’s gaze and finally Michael gave up and put down his own pad with a sigh.

“Twelve? Is that the standard age?” Michael blinked. He often forgot that those who aren’t in the AI Program don’t know anything about the process. Those outside simply know of the existence of AIs and how they help Gamers, but no one really question the AI process. Michael was once again reminded of Gavin’s uniqueness, but he’d quickly learned to just go with it.

“It depends on the person, really. I was picked at twelve, but one of my buddies, Geoff, didn’t join until he was twenty-one.”

“What determines when you get chosen? And _how_ do you get chosen?” Michael felt the corners of his mouth twitch. He liked that Gavin was curious. Michael usually didn’t like sharing things about himself, especially with a Gamer, but he felt comfortable around Gavin.

“Alright, are you comfortable? Cause this is going to be a long story.” Gavin perked up in his seat and put his pad on the floor. Michael let himself smile that time. “Well, you know that Responsive Technology is in charge of the AI program, right?” Gavin nodded. “Responsive Technology apparently has stats of every person in existence that has ever played a game, either on their gaming system or handheld, and they rank those stats based on a bunch of different shit. Like they check for scores, how quickly you finish a game or mission, how many achievements you’ve unlocked, tons of stuff.

“Then they take the best player for whatever type of AI they’re looking for at that time, and begin studying the person, looking into their background. How old they are, grades, the whole fucking deal. Then comes the house visits. The first time they visited me I was ten. I remember my mom was so excited. One of her sons was being looked at by RT. It was like fucking Christmas morning for her.”

“Were you not excited?” Gavin asked. Michael blinked. He’d never shared any of this with anyone, but he decided that since this was Gavin and he probably wouldn’t share this story again, he’d tell the truth.

“Not necessarily, no. I mean, I was ten. Sure, I thought it was cool that I was being picked, but I didn’t really understand the severity of it all, you know? I just liked playing videogames.

“The second visit didn’t happen for another three months, and by then I was eleven. It was the first time they told me a little about the AI program, but they were still pretty vague about everything. They said they were interested in having me join, but they still needed to talk to more people in the company before they could really start the process of adding me on. The third time they came was when they asked if I wanted to be an AI. It was the first real time I’d ever been asked anything like that- to make a huge life decision for myself.

“When I thought about it, I just wanted to sit in my room and play games. I wanted to hang out with my friends. But the look on my mom’s face. She was just so happy for me. I could tell she wanted it for me. So I figured, hey, if she thinks it’s such a great idea then I should do it, right? Who knows better than Mom? Plus it made my brother super jealous, which was just icing on the fucking cake.

“Then came the trips to RT Headquarters. I had to take a bunch of tests. They checked my hearing, sight, response times. They had me stay overnight to observe me, too. They did that a couple times with, like, two months in between trips. After that started the process of getting me a scanner and ID. That part didn’t take long, but they needed blood samples and shit.”

“Bloody hell this is a long process. Especially for something you didn’t even really want to do.” Michael sighed.

“Fucking tell me about it.”

“So then you go to the ship?”

“Pretty much. They give you a mentor when you first join and they show you around the ship and tell you about Gamers and how sessions work. Then the Overseers, the people in charge of the Floor Room where we go into sessions, give you a code and basically tell you to fuck yourself.”

“How did your first session go? Did you make them shit their pants, or were you calmer as a child?” Michael glared at Gavin, who grinned widely in response. Michael hated that goddamn smile. The problem was that it was infectious, and Michael had to use all his power to his keep up his glare. He could tell it didn’t have the effect he wanted when Gavin let out a soft chuckle. “Seriously, how did it go?”

“It was shit,” Michael deadpanned.

“Did you get all pissy at him?”

“He didn’t know how to use a fucking pad, and I was supposed to teach him how to play _Human Hit List_. It was a fucking disaster.” Gavin let out a squeaky laugh. “So then the Commander canceled my sessions, gave my Gamer to another AI, and sent me to a goddamn anger class.” Gavin was laughing even harder then. Michael tried to stay serious, but ended up laughing along with his Gamer.

"I don’t think the classes worked,” Gavin joked. 

“You shut your goddamn mouth,” Michael said, still laughing.

“So the Commander lets you tell your Gamers to shut the hell up?” Michael’s laughter died out then. He never expected this subject to come up, and he felt a little embarrassed to tell Gavin the truth.

“Uh, not exactly,” Michael hinted. Gavin’s brows knitted together, and Michael could practically see the gears turning in his brain before Gavin finally placed a goofy grin on his face. “So, tell me about your school stuff,” Michael said, wanting to change the subject because he wasn’t one for admitting his feelings, even if they were platonic. Gavin sighed, but his smile was still on his face.

“I have exams this week and I haven’t studied at all. Plus one of my professors is planning a project for us next week and I’m really not excited for that. School is dumb.” Gavin didn’t realize how lucky he was. He got to be home. He had all of his friends. Granted, Michael had made new ones on Galacticraft, but most nights he spent wishing for the normal life he never had. Then again, Gavin probably thought _he_ was the lucky one. What was that old saying? The grass is always greener on the other side.

The pair spent the rest of the session talking rather than playing, and before long Michael heard the familiar ping that told him their session was up.

“See you tomorrow?” Gavin asked. Michael smiled.

“Of course, boi. Good luck in school tomorrow.” Gavin smiled back.

“Have fun on the ship.” Michael blinked and Gavin was gone, leaving him suspended until there was darkness once more. It was becoming less terrifying, being trapped in the darkness of his pod. Michael slowly released a deep breath out of his mouth, replaying the session in my mind for its duration, then pushed open the pod and left the Floor.


	5. Chapter 5

“Sup, boi,” Gavin greeted as Michael entered the session.

“Hey, Gavy,” Michael responded and took his place in the seat next to the Brit. Michael started up the game, this time spawning the boys in a forest similar to the one from the beginning of the game. They had to meet the Time Wizard, who lived in a cave hidden within the forest. The boys still had their horses and trotted between the close knit trees.

“How far away are we from the cave?”

“We’re almost there.” A moment later the two boys came upon a fallen tree. Gavin tried to make Grisham jump over it, but Michael stopped him. “This is it, Gavin.”

“This is the bloody cave?” Gavin asked incredulously. Michael hopped off his horse and tied the reigns to a crooked branch on the trunk. Gavin followed suit.

“Yeah, he’s a wizard, dude. Did you expect the cave to look like an actual cave?”

“How can you even call this a cave when it’s just a tree?” said Gavin, his voice becoming defensive.

“Remember those berries I bought earlier? Eat one of them,” Michael said and took a berry out of his own pocket and popped it in his mouth. Once he bit into it, he saw the cave materialize. The air before him moved and looked like a curtain swaying in the wind. It sort of looked like a glitch in the game, but as he swallowed the berry he could see the dark mouth of the cave. There were two torches hanging on the mossy rock, and Michael walked forward and took one out of its handle.

“Whoa, what were those berries laced with, Michael? Did you drug me?”

“Hell yeah, bitch. Come over here so I can shove this torch up your ass.” Gavin made of noise of discomfort.

“That’s brutal,” he said, but came closer and grabbed the other torch. “Alright, let’s go.” Gavin went in first, his torch lighting up the tunnel and illuminating the stalagmites and stalactites. “Can a stalactite become a stalagmite if it falls down?” Michael looked away from the screen and over to Gavin.

“What?”

“If a stalactite falls down can it start growing up and become a stalagmite?”

“Shut the hell up,” Michael said and looked back at the screen. “You’re dumb.” Gavin let out a short laugh. “Okay, stop walking.” The boys stopped and Michael moved closer to the wall. He moved his torch around and illuminated different portions. “It’s around here somewhere,” he muttered.

“Are you looking for this?” Michael looked over a few feet to where Gavin was standing in front of a small indentation in the cave wall.

“Oh, beautiful,” Michael said. He dropped his torch and stomped out the fire.

“You’re beautiful, Michael.”

“Gavin, please.” Michael forced his eyes to stay on the screen as he felt his cheeks warm up. He grabbed the unilluminated stick off the ground and placed it inside the indentation Gavin had found. Suddenly, the wall moved and unveiled a softly lit room. Michael walked in first and looked around at the shelves that were carved out of the cave. Strewn around the room were bottles of potions and ingredients. The Time Wizard was nowhere to be seen, but Michael knew what they had to do to get him to appear. Michael smiled as he watched Gavin, waiting for him to fuck up and trigger the wizard’s appearance.

About ten seconds later Gavin began to fiddle with jars and bottles and inspect their contents. He picked up one that said ‘Essence of Griffin’ and proceeded to pop the cork out of the top and take a whiff. “I just realized that I can’t smell things in the game,” Gavin said and Michael laughed. The Gamer actually sounded pretty upset.

“Guess you’ll never know what a griffin smells like.” Gavin put the bottle down on a shelf, but he’d placed it too close to the edge and it fell to the ground and shattered.

“Whoops.” Michael smiled. He knew he wouldn’t have had to wait long. A strong gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and purple smoke began to swirl around in the back corner of the room. “What’s going on?”

“Time Wizard’s coming to beat your ass.” The smoke began to die down and then dissipated altogether. A crotchety old man stood in its wake.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he seethed as he rounded on Gavin. “That jar was twelve thousand years old. You’ll pay for that, boy!” Gavin let out a noise that sounded like a scared mouse squeaking. Michael started laughing, enjoying the view as the old wizard got in Gavin’s terrified face. Even though some times the games were a bit tedious due to their realism, Michael loved the fact that the pads could detect your brain waves and emotions to display them on your character’s face. Gavin’s expression was priceless. The Wizard snapped his fingers and purple sparks ignited from the friction, so Michael decided it was time to step in.

“We come seeking your wisdom, oh Great and Powerful One,” Michael recited. It was one of the lines every AI was to site when playing _Enchantment_. It was the only thing that would allow a gamer to pass this scene and continue on with the game. Responsive Technology liked to put things like that in their games so Gamers would have to use AIs.

The Wizard stayed in Gavin’s face a moment longer before he looked over to Michael and squinted his eyes slightly. “I can’t help you,” he said finally, taking a few steps back and turning back to the rest of the room.

“Please, sir, we need a potion to enter the castle.” Michael tapped on his screen to have the lines play for themselves, rather than him repeat them all. Michael sat back in his chair and watched. “This is going to take a few minutes if you want to get a drink or something,” Michael said as he looked over at Gavin.

“Alright, I’ll go get a Red Bull. You want something?” Michael blinked.

“This isn’t a real body, Gavin.”

“Oh.” Gavin looked down for a moment and Michael wondered what he was thinking about. “But you can feel things, yeah? What happens if you drink something?”

“Uh, I’m not really sure to be honest.” Michael had never eaten or drank anything as a hologram; Gamer’s _definitely_ never offered him anything and it’s not like he would ask for a drink. He didn’t need to drink, plus he’d probably have to have a talk with the Commander if he asked a Gamer for anything other than to use the controls on the pad.

“Let’s find out,” Gavin said excitedly. Before Michael could respond Gavin had jumped out of his seat and ran out the door.

“Alright,” Michael muttered to himself. He felt weird, being alone in Gavin’s room. He let his eyes scan around the room and saw some photographs on a shelf that looked like the Gamer with different friends. The images made Michael think about his own friends he’d had back on Earth. He thought about his best friend, Kerry, who’d lived next door to him. He’d known Kerry his whole life and wondered what the boy was doing then. Was he enjoying High School? Did he finally ask out Stacy, the girl he’d had a crush on since the first grade? Had he made new friends? Did he still think about Michael? Did he miss him?

“What’s wrong?” Michael whipped his head around just as Gavin walked back into the room.

“What? Nothing,” Michael said, forcing thoughts of his old life out of his mind.

“It feels moody in here,” Gavin began, but Michael shrugged off the comment. Gavin sat back down in his chair and handed Michael one of the tubes in his hands. Michael took it from him and looked at it. It was a clear glass cylinder, about six inches tall and two in diameter. Inside was a deep yellowish colored liquid.

“This looks disgusting,” Michael said. Gavin shook his head, reached out, and took the drink from him. He tapped the top of the glass tube a few times before giving it a twist. The glass spun away and revealed an opening to drink out of.

“Here, take a drink,” he said, handing Michael back the tube. Michael took it, brought the opening up to his nose, and sniffed it.

“God that smells horrible.” Michael was about to take a drink, but when he looked over at Gavin he couldn’t help but smile. “Dude, stop staring at me like that.” Gavin watched, apparently without blinking, eyes wide and that ever present smile brightening up his face.

“Quit faffing about and drink it.” Michael had had the tube up to his lips, but he let out a soft laugh and almost made the liquid splash up and hit his face.

“Some time’s I don’t fucking understand you, Gavin. Use you’re goddamn words.”

“Drink, you pissy little piss pot!”

“Alright! Fuck.” Michael rolled his eyes and took a swig. He made a face and looked at Gavin. “This tastes like shit, Gavin.”

“Well, you drink it for the energy, not for the bloody flavor.”

“I’m a hologram, how would it give me energy?” Michael cried.

“I dunno! You can feel things, why can’t you have an energy drink work?” Gavin took a drink from his own tube. “Can you use the bathroom?”

“What?” Michael asked as he took another drink from the tube. The flavor wasn’t great, but he was holding it so he figured he might as well drink it.

“If it’s not a real body where’s the drink going? Can you piss it out or does it just disappear?”

“I don’t fucking know, dude. I literally know as much as you do on this.”

“Well, that’s going to be interesting.” There was a pause while the boys drank their Red Bull. “Can I ask you something?” Gavin asked after a while.

“Yeah, sure.” Michael assumed it would be another question about becoming an AI or life on the ship.

“What’s with that suit?” Michael blinked as he looked down at his clothes. He wore his standard AI hologram clothing, a black jumpsuit that slightly clung to his skin. On the shoulders he wore the Achievement Hunter emblem, a green star with an old style controller cut out of the middle and a green circle surrounding it all.

“It’s like, AI uniform.”

“Are you wearing that right now?” Michael almost yelled at him, because obviously he was wearing it, when he realized Gavin meant on his real body.

“Nah, I’m wearing a looser suit on the ship.”

“So what’s with the skin tight clothing on Earth? Is there a special service I don’t know about?” Gavin joked, but Michael was far from smiling. The question brought up unhappy memories. Not with him personally, but he’d heard a few horror stories about other AIs. “I didn’t mean-” Gavin began, realizing it was a touchy subject, and Michael shook his head.

“I know.” Gavin looked like he wanted to ask more about it, but after watching Michael for a minute he dropped it.

“So, where to next?” he asked as he grabbed his pad. Gavin looked to the screen and began moving about in the game. Michael watched his Gamer for a moment before grabbing his own pad and silently thanking Gavin for not pressing him. Michael probably would have answered any questions Gavin had asked, but he was glad he didn’t have to. At least not then.

“Now we go to the Nether,” Michael said. He grabbed the potion the Wizard had left on shelf and led Gavin back out of the cave.

“How do we get there?”

“Through the Nether Portal. It’s just a little further into this forest.” The boys got back onto their horses, again Gavin forgot to untie his reigns, and continued on their journey. It took a short while, but eventually they reached the edge of a cliff. Below, about a hundred feet down, was a river.

“Is there another secret cave or something?” Michael hopped off Hidalgo and grabbed a rock off the ground. He aimed for a spot just past the edge and with a flick of his wrist tossed the rock. It bounced off the air and skipped along as a walkway formed out of thin air. After seven stones a large portal appeared, about thirty feet tall and made of obsidian stone, its edges jagged and worn. The inside was open, like an archway, but filled with a soft purple and blue mist.

Gavin came up behind him and began to walk toward the portal when Michael heard the ping. “Time’s up, Gavy.”

“What? Why does this always happen when we’re about to go inside places?”

“I don’t know, boi,” said Michael with a shrug. Gavin sighed. “We’ll fuck up the Nether tomorrow,” Michael said but Gavin shook his head as he put down his pad.

“I can’t tomorrow, I’ve got exams. I’ve got ‘em for the rest of the week, actually.”

“Well, then, we’ll play in a few days,” Michael reassured. Gavin nodded.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You alright?”

“Yeah I just, I want to play.” Michael watched Gavin for a moment, who looked like he was lost in thought. Finally Michael nodded.

“Whenever you want to play, we’ll play.” Gavin looked over at Michael and smiled.

“Friday, the second I get home, we’re playing.”

“Deal.”


	6. Chapter 6

Michael walked through the halls of the starship and to one of the many lifts located throughout Galacticraft. Once inside, he ordered Interface to take him to the Creation Room. “Identification required,” a voice called and Michael responded with his name. Michael stood patiently as he waited for the doors to open. When they did he walked out and into the long hallway.

As he walked, Michael was stopped by a glass door with a scanner that took up most of its transparent surface. The scanner noticed him immediately and began scanning his face as he approached. The Creation Room was probably Michael’s favorite room on the space ship, but he hated the fact that it had so much security leading up to it. The scanner took a moment, looking up Michael’s file, and suddenly Michael saw his face on the glass, a picture that they’d taken of him a couple months ago. JONES, MICHAEL. RANK 2, was written beneath it.

The glass door finally slid open and Michael continued down the hallway, only to be stopped by yet another scanner. Michael understood why they did it, the room was for top ranked AIs only, but it was a real pain in the ass to go through everything. Still, the room was worth it.

Finally, Michael reached the last security stop, a metal door this time, and was asked to place his IC inside an opening. Michael did so, and soon enough he was able to enter the room. All the other AH guys were already in the room waiting for his arrival. “Finally. What the hell took you so long?” Geoff asked. Michael rolled his eyes and looked around the room. It was a box, perfectly square and huge, completely drenched in pure white that seemed to glow. Nothing was in the room but the five men, and it was hard to tell where the floor stopped and the walls began. “You assholes ready to play?”

“What are we doing today, Geoff?” Jack asked. Geoff smiled and raised the arm with his band around it, signaling Interface.

“Welcome to the Creation Room. Would you like me to load your last save, Geoff Ramsey?”

“Yes,” he enunciated, then lowered his arm and turned to the guys. “I came in a couple days ago to set up some shit for us.” The room began to transform. Instead of a white box, Michael found himself stood in the middle of a small town. Below his feet was a large scale version of the Achievement Hunter logo in black and green wool, and along the outskirts were five houses, one for each of them. Beyond that Michael saw trees and mountains. Everything in the world was very square, and Michael knew instantly they’d be playing in _Pixel,_ Geoff’s favorite game to build in.

“So, I don’t know if you guys know, but in _Pixel_ there’s secret builds you can do by combining certain materials,” Geoff began as the others walked around town. Michael made his way over to his respective house, only half listening to Geoff. His house was simple; wooden, one room. Nothing fancy like Geoff’s, which was made of cobblestone and reached to the building height limit.

“Percival’s still here,” Michael heard Ray say. He left his house and went to Ray’s, a small dirt home that was the shittiest house in Achievement City, the name they had given their little Pixel world. Once he walked in the door he saw an ocelot sitting on Ray’s bed and a chicken sitting in a caldron.

“Ray, you’re turning into Ryan,” Michael warned as he left to go back to where Geoff was standing.

“Hey, I didn’t trap them,” Ray began, but Ryan cut him off.

“I didn’t put those animals in my house! The pigs and chickens came by themselves!”

“You trapped a fucking cow under your goddamn floor!” Michael cried.

“Edgar is none of your business,” he responded, and Michael laughed.

“Hey, assholes, come here and get your shit,” Geoff called.

“I’m right here, Geoff,” Michael said, standing behind him. Geoff threw him a pickaxe and a couple pieces of food. The Creation Room had different settings, and whenever the Achievement Hunters came in to play one of their games Geoff placed it on Aggressive, which meant that there would be monsters and they’d lose health during the game that they could regain by fake eating holo-food.

“Okay, everyone has a pickaxe and four pork chops, right?” There was a chorus of yeahs. “Alright. Today we’re going to be making, and killing, an iron golem. You’re going to mine for iron, make four iron blocks, place them like a ‘t,’ and then put a pumpkin on top. That’s how you make an iron golem. Then you’re going to kill it. The first one who builds and kills a golem wins. Go.”

“LLLLLLLLLLET’S PLAY!” Ray cried. Everyone ran around the square before dispersing in their separate directions. Michael immediately made his way to the tunnels under Jack’s house and started mining.

“Question,” Ryan began, causing everyone else to groan.

“Yes, Ryan?” Geoff asked patiently, though they all knew what Ryan was going to say.

“Can we kill each other?”

“Nope, no killing each other.”

“Ryan, what happened to your murder break?”

“That’s only in Los Santos,” Ryan said, referring to one of the other games available in the Creation Room. In _Los Santos_ the guys ran around with sticky bombs and rifles and went on missions to rob and kill people. Michael preferred it to _Pixel_ , but he still loved running around the boxy world with his weird friends.

“Are you playing, too, Geoff?” Ray asked, to which Geoff answered, “Yes.” Sometimes Geoff didn’t play if he felt like he had an advantage in the game. Michael preferred it when he did, though. He didn’t give a shit about winning; he just wanted to have fun.

“I found diamond,” Ryan announced excitedly.

“Are you fucking kidding me? We’ve been playing for five minutes!” Michael cried as he dug himself through a wall, hitting nothing but stone. “Well, Ryan won.”

“Not necessarily. I still need iron.”

“I found iron!” Geoff screamed.

“God dammit,” Michael muttered. “Alright, where the hell are you guys? I’m coming over.”

“There’s a cave chicken in here,” Ray muttered quietly.

“Is it Conrad?”

“I dunno. Well, he just laid an egg.”

“Ray, you’re rich!” Michael cried with feigned enthusiasm. Out of nowhere, Geoff let out a loud scream. “What the fuck, Geoff?”

“Geoff blew up,” Interface announced and caused all the men to laugh.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Geoff yelled.

“How’d you blow up?” Jack asked.

“Goddamn creeper showed up and fucked my asshole.”

“Geoff, no!” Michael cried between fits of laughter.

“I had so much iron,” Geoff whined, which just made everyone laugh harder.

“Yeah Ryan’s definitely gonna win,” Ray said.

XXX

“Hey, Ray, what are you up to?” Michael asked as he ventured into his friend’s cave.

“Y’know, mining shit. You?”

“I’ve completely given up on this. There’s no fucking way I’m going to win,” he said as he reached Ray. “I brought you something.”

“What?” Ray asked as he turned around. Michael shuffled through his inventory before showering Ray with dozens of roses. Ray immediately started cheering and laughing, which Michael joined in on.

“I literally spent the last fifteen minutes picking thirty-seven goddamn roses.” Ray picked up the roses before grabbing his pickaxe again. “Ray,” Michael whispered, “I’m gonna help you win,” he said, grabbed his own pickaxe and mined into the wall across from Ray.

“Thanks, champ,” Ray whispered back. They were silent for a moment as they mined and Michael could hear the other guys singing to themselves and chatting in the distance. “So, no Gamer today, huh?”

“Nah, he’s got school shit.” If Michael was being honest, he’d spent the day trying to forget about Gavin, but the stupid Brit constantly popped into his head. It wasn’t anything special, either. He just thought about how he would fuck with everyone playing and say stupid shit.  

“You seeing him tomorrow?” Ray asked. Michael shook his head before he remembered that Ray was digging behind him and couldn’t see what he was doing.

“No, I’m off AI duties till Friday. Why are you asking so many questions?” Michael asked, genuinely curious.

“Cause he’s like your new butt budy.”

“You jealous, Ray?”

“No.” Ray acted defensive until Michael heard him laugh softly. “Seriously though, you’ve been seeing him every day since you were assigned to him and you keep having full sessions. That’s not normal, especially for you. Isn’t he bugging the shit out of you?”

“You have no idea,” Michael said under his breath. It wasn’t that Gavin bugged him like normal Gamers did; usually Michael got frustrated with people and had to use all his self-control not to scream at them. With Gavin, Michael still got annoyed, but he actually enjoyed hanging out with the boy, which was frustrating in a different way. He was in a constant battle with himself over whether or not he should be friends with the Gamer, since they’d never see each other again after they finished their game.

But Michael knew himself well enough to know that there was no way he could stop being close to him. Especially after Michael had shared so much about himself and his past. Whether he liked it or not, he and Gavin were friends. In some ways it was freeing to know that they’d only be together for a short period of time. Michael could be himself with Gavin and not feel embarrassed because it’d only be a matter of time before they’d disappear from each other’s lives forever. “Gavin’s an idiot, but he’s definitely one of the better Gamers I’ve had,” Michael allowed.

“ _Gavin_ , huh? First name basis?” Ray asked, evidently surprised. Shit. He shouldn’t have said his name.

“Uh, yeah, he thought it’d be easier.” Michael continued mining, praying to find something interesting so they could get off the topic of him and Gavin. When he broke away the next block of stone, Michael could practically feel the rays of sunshine from heaven pouring down on him. “Lava!” he cheered. He’d opened up into a cave with a large lava-fall and he could hear water running in the distance. Thank fucking Christ. Michael and Ray spent the rest of their time venturing through the cave, all conversations of Gavin completely lost.

XXX

The men all made their way to the surface and to Achievement City as Geoff announced he would be creating his iron golem. Once they were all there, Geoff stacked the blocks and it turned into a giant iron monster with vines draped around it’s shoulders and hanging down it’s body. “Oh, my god!” Geoff cried and began berating the giant with his diamond sword. The golem, much to everyone’s surprise, did nothing in retaliation.

“I thought you said they were vicious,” Michael said.

“They’re supposed to be. I don’t know why he’s not fighting back!” Geoff argued, though he continued to slash his sword at the golem. The monster made this weird sound every time Geoff hit it, and it was almost painful to watch the guy slay the gentle giant.

“Aw, poor thing,” Jack said. All the guys were laughing but it was slightly uncomfortable. Finally, Geoff killed the damn thing and put it out of it’s, and everyone else’s, misery.

“Goddamn that was brutal,” Michael said, to which Geoff defended, “Interface said they were evil assholes!” The guys all laughed and ran around Achievement City for a bit. It was nice being able to spend time with everyone and not have to worry about going to the Floor Room.

“So how come you’re not with your new Gamer?” Ryan asked as the guys inspected a village they’d come across. Michael and Ryan were destroying one of the villager’s homes while Ray and Jack destroyed their gardens, and Geoff attempted to trade books for an emerald. Michael rolled his eyes.

“You too, Ryan? Why is everyone so fucking interested in my sessions?”

“Because that’s all you do lately. Eat, sleep, and play. It’s pretty rare to see you hanging around the ship now days.” It wasn’t that weird, was it? Tons of AIs spent most of their time with their Gamers. Trying to complete sessions quickly. Wanting to increase their ranks. Though, that’s not why Michael was doing it, and he knew Ryan and the others were aware of that as well. He felt bad about not being around his friends. He missed them, though he wouldn’t say so in so many words.

Maybe it was a good thing he was getting a few days away from Gavin. He needed to spend more time with the other Achievement Hunters and maybe give their budding friendship some air. Though he liked hanging out with Gavin, it was weird how quickly they’d gotten close. Michael had never had that with anyone before. It took him about two weeks to become friends with Ray, and even longer for him to bond with his old ground friend, Kerry. Maybe it would be best to put a little space between them.

“Are you enjoying it?” Ryan asked and Michael knew he meant spending time with Gavin. Michael sighed and wondered if he should lie and say he wasn’t, that he _did_ just want to get it over with, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to Ryan. Even though they weren’t as close as he and Ray were, he trusted Ryan. Ryan had been his mentor when he’d first gotten to Starship Galacticraft and taught him a lot about being a Gamer.

“Kinda,” he admitted. Ryan was quiet and waited for Michael to continue. “He’s a fucking idiot, but he’s actually pretty cool.” Michael felt his cheeks warm up and he tried to cover his face by breaking down part of the villager’s wall.

“Did I ever tell you about Lindsay?” Ryan asked quietly and Michael stopped worrying about his flaming cheeks enough to look over at his friend. Michael shook his head as his brows knitted together. “She was a Gamer I had a couple years ago, just after you got here.

“She was awesome. Smart. Clever. Funny. Going to sessions didn’t feel like a job, you know? It was fun.” Michael thought back to when he’d first gotten to Galacticraft and remembered Ryan always looking like he’d only gotten ten minutes of sleep every day. Was that because he was always in sessions with this Gamer, Lindsay? “We became really close. It was nice to have a Grounder to talk to.

“It wasn’t romantic or anything,” Ryan added as he looked over at Michael. “She was just easy to talk to.” Ryan spun his pickaxe around in his hands, a distant look in his eyes. “Making friends with Gamers can be great, but you have to remember that it’s not going to last forever.” Michael bit the inside of his cheek.

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t be friends with Gavin?” he asked. Part of him hoped that Ryan would tell him to forget about their friendship. He wanted someone to tell him it was pointless and stupid and to stop it before it got out of hand. But Ryan shook his head.

“No, I’m saying to be careful.” He looked Michael straight in the eye, and it made Michael feel uncomfortable, like Ryan could see inside him. “And make the most of what little time you have.”

“Ryan-” Michael began, but he was cut off.

“I got an emerald!” Geoff cried as he ran over to the two men, shoving the green gem in their faces. Ray and Jack came walking up behind him. Michael shoved Geoff’s hand out of his face but smiled at the man, erasing any evidence of his conversation with Ryan from his face. Michael felt eyes on him and he looked over to see Ray staring at him, his expression indecipherable. Michael furrowed his brow and wondered why Ray was looking at him. He opened his mouth to ask, but Ray just shook his head. Michael was still curious, though, and made a mental note to ask Ray about it later.

“Hey, let’s go get some food. I’m starving,” Ryan said and Geoff threw a pork chop at him. Ryan glared at the man, causing everyone to laugh.

“Fucking Ryan the picky guy,” Geoff said, but raised his hand to signal Interface. “Interface, save and exit Pixel file 58008.”

“File is now saved,” Interface spoke. The village around them began to slowly fade away until they were left in the bright white room once again. A door materialized a few feet away from them and the Achievement Hunters made their way back into the hallway, talking about the different things they’d found during the game and laughed about dumb stuff they’d done.

XXX

Michael felt his arm begin shaken violently and looked over to see Ray tugging on his arm. “Ray, what the fuck?” He didn’t say anything, though; he just kept vibrating his arm like a 9.0 earthquake. “RAY!” Michael yelled at him, but he still remained silent. Michael felt like Ray might rip his arm out of its socket and he opened his mouth to shout at the boy again when his eyes flew open and he shot up in his bed. Michael looked around wildly, his eyes rendered blind by the darkness but the involuntary swinging of his arm made him look at his wristband.

Quickly, Michael pressed the buttons on his band and red letters flashed at him, telling him to go to the Floor Room immediately. Michael sighed as his arm dropped. The shaking was finally over but now his right arm felt dead. He waited a moment as he tried to rest his hand and regain any feeling, but then he remembered why it’d been shaking in the first place.

Michael brightened as he hopped out of bed and threw on his shoes and glasses. He was being called to the Floor, which meant it was finally Friday and he could see his dumbass Gamer for the first time in a couple days. Michael was excited, despite himself. He rushed to the lift and immediately complied with Gus’s questioning, just wanting to get into his pod and start up the session.

Finally, Michael lay in darkness and waited for the floating ecstasy before he’d be thrown into that familiar bedroom. Once it began, Michael felt himself relax a little and he chastised himself. He shouldn’t be so excited to see Gavin. He shouldn’t let the idiot have such an effect on him. But then Ryan’s voice filled his mind. “Make the most of the little time you have.” Michael bit his lip, and before he could blink he was standing before a grinning Gavin. “Michael!” he cried excitedly, and Michael couldn’t help but smile back.

“Hey, Gav.”


	7. Chapter 7

Michael took his regular seat beside Gavin and started up their game; the large Nether Portal loomed above them. “Why are we going in here again?”

“We need to get a few items for the wizard so he can make us our potion,” Michael explained. Gavin took a step forward and walked through the purple veiled opening only to look at Michael from the other side.

“What the hell is this? Cheap bastard.”

“You have to fucking stand inside it and wait, Gavin,” Michael said with an eye roll. He took a step inside the swirling mist and Gavin walked in beside him. A moment later, Michael heard whooshing sounds and a strong wind whipped his curls against his forehead. Then, the bright scenery of the cliffside disappeared and a dark, red tinted world took its place. Michael stepped out of the portal and Gavin followed his lead. “Welcome to The Nether.”

As he looked around, Michael noticed that they seemed to be in the middle of a sort of town square. All around were pop-up tents and menacing looking merchants were selling different items. “You look like a nice young man,” a voice said and Michael looked over to his left to see a man with rotten teeth and completely black eyes shuffle up to Gavin, who let out a slight shriek at the sight of him. The man’s clothes were tattered and covered in soot, and he had red hair that stuck up and flowed almost like flames. “You like wine, boy?” Michael walked over to the two and stepped in front of Gavin. The other man took a step back.

 “He’s not interested,” Michael said. He’d been to The Nether before, but the portal had never spawned him in the middle of the town before; it usually spit you out in a deserted field a few miles away. In fact, Michael had never dealt with any characters in the Square before, so he didn’t know what he and Gavin had just gotten themselves into.

 The man looked Michael up and down before smirking. “How about you, then? You look like you could use a refreshment.” Before Michael could say anything else, the man shoved a goblet into his hand. “Drink, drink.” The wine sloshed around and Michael thrust the cup away from him only to make the dark liquid hit Gavin.

 “I don’t want any of your goddamn wine,” Michael said as he tried to hand the goblet back to the man.

 “Ow! Michael. Michael my heath’s going down.” Michael turned to look at Gavin and noticed that the veins in his hand were turning dark and shooting up into his sleeves, creating black webs under his skin.

 “What the fuck?” Michael mumbled quietly and he looked down into the cup before putting two and two together. “I figured there was something off about this shit, but fucking poison? That you don’t even have to fucking drink? Are you kidding me?” Michael seethed. He looked up at the man to see him smiling softly, his black eyes seemingly darker.

 “Michael, I’m dying,” Gavin said and Michael held up a finger to him.

 “Hang on a second, Gav. You thought you could just poison me and my friend here?” Michael tossed the goblet to the side, away from the dying Gavin, and unsheathed his sword. “Big fucking mistake, you prick.” Michael barely gave the man any time to react before he swung at him, stabbing him straight through the chest. The man smiled wider as Michael pulled his sword out causing Michael to cock his head in confusion. _Why the hell is he smiling?_ The man fell with a thump and Michael turned around to tend to Gavin, who was now on his hands and knees. “C’mon, Gav, let me heal you,” Michael said as he knelt down. Gavin pushed himself back so he was sitting and Michael put a hand on his cheek to keep his head from lolling around. “How much heath you got left?”

 “About thirty-five percent. My visions gone minging.”

 “Healing’s going to take a second, even with codes.” Michael dropped Gavin’s face to rummage through his inventory before producing a purple gem. “Hold this,” he said as he placed it in Gavin’s hand. He closed Gavin’s fingers around it since he didn’t seem strong enough to hold it there himself. He wrapped his hands around Gavin’s and the Brit sighed as he announced that his heath was slowly returning. That’s when Michael heard a snarl behind him. “What the-”

 Everyone in the square was staring at them. Well, more specifically Michael. About thirty mangled faces glared at Michael and one by one started to slowly advance, slightly crouched like cats about to pounce. “Michael?” Gavin asked, apparently able to see again and noticing the trouble they were in.

 “Can you hold this by yourself?” Michael asked and Gavin nodded his head. Thankfully, Michael could see the action in his peripheral vision and he slowly got back on his feet, sword in hand once more. Michael glanced around at everyone slowly and noticed them forming a circle around them. _This isn’t going to end well,_ Michael thought. He heard a scuff behind him and spun around in time to see a woman with wild eyes surging toward him, her claw-like hands extended outward. She clamped down on Michael shoulders as she screamed at him, the deafening sound disorienting him momentarily.

 Michael shook his head and gave the woman a hard push, causing her to drop to the floor, her cries still echoed through the square. Another person ran up to Michael, this one with a dagger, and swung widely. Michael dodged the swings easily enough and that’s when he realized the person he was now fighting didn’t have eyes. They didn’t even have eye sockets, really, just puckered skin where they should’ve been. Michael involuntarily shivered before he dodged another attack, but the blade nicked his cheek. Michael growled and kicked the person in the stomach, the blow knocking them back a few feet, before running forward and slicing their head clean off.

 “YOU MURDERED MY LOVE,” Michael heard a voice shout and he rolled his eyes as he turned to the voice, but froze when he saw Claws for Hands knelt over Gavin’s still-not-completely-healed body. Gavin let out a slight yelp when he noticed her.

 “When the bloody hell did she get there?” The woman looked at Michael and smiled wickedly.

 “Now I’m going to murder yours.” Before Michael could do anything the woman lashed out her arm in a clean sweep, clawing through Gavin’s neck.

 “GAVIN!!” Michael yelled before running forward and- _Wait. What the hell am I doing?_ Michael looked away from the screen and down at the pad in his hand as he quickly tapped and scrolled through the coding. He could feel jolts in the pad and knew he was getting attacked, but Michael laughed softly to himself as he finished, spawning Gavin and himself in the field they were meant to be in. “Stupid fucking realistic game,” Michael muttered and Gavin blinked before laughing beside him, obviously forgetting it was a game as well.

 “Why didn’t you do that in the first place, you dumb idiot?” Gavin asked and Michael looked over to glare at him, which only caused Gavin to squeal with laughter. “Did she seriously call me your love?” Gavin asked after a moment and Michael rolled his eyes. “Has there ever been relationships between Gamers and AIs?” Michael froze for a moment as a flood of images flashed through his memory. He’d never been romantically involved, or platonically until now, with a Gamer, but there had been AIs in the past who were.

 “Why do you keep asking me questions about AI shit?” Michael asked and Gavin shrugged.

 “I’ve always been curious about this stuff. And now that I have a mate who’s an AI I can finally get some answers.” Michael closed his eyes and sighed. He really didn’t want to get into it, mostly because all he knew was stories and rumors, but he’d made a promise to himself already that he’d be honest with Gavin, so he opened his eyes and set his pad down. Gavin knew by now that meant “get ready for story time,” and he perked up in his chair as he set his own pad down and focused all his attention on Michael.

 “Okay, I don’t know a ton about this shit, and I’ve only heard stories and rumors, so I don’t know how much of this is true, but yeah. It’s happened before.” Gavin raised his brows. Gavin waited for Michael to continue, but he didn’t.

 “Well?”

 “Well what?” Michael asked. What else did he want to know? Gavin scoffed exasperatedly.

 “Well what happens? How does it work? I mean, it’s not allowed, right?” Michael nodded. “So how does it happen?” Michael rolled his eyes.

 “The same fucking way it happens on Earth, Gavin. Most AIs are professional with their Gamers, but sometimes they get closer and bond and grow feelings for each other.” Michael saw an expression flash across Gavin’s face and Michael wondered for a moment what was going through his mind.

 “What?” Michael asked, but Gavin just shook his head.

 “Nothing. So, how does that work, though? It’s not like they can date or anything, right? And you can only see them until you’ve finished your game. Well, I guess also when you’ve finished on the ship. But that could be years. Must be hard.”

 “Well,” Michael began as he slouched down in the chair and looked up at Gavin’s ceiling as he spoke. “As far as the dating goes, I assume they’d spend their session times. I mean, up to five hours a session, up to two full sessions a day, that’s not bad. During sessions you’re not monitored so you could basically do whatever the fuck you want as long as you’re still progressing through the game. Unless you’re scheduled for a Review, which means there’s a member of RT standing beside your pod on the ship and watching a feed of everything you’re doing. They do it once for every Gamer an AI gets, just to see how we’re working and shit.

 “But if they find out an AI is in a relationship with a Gamer… it doesn’t end well.” Michael knew about a person in his and Ray’s dormitory who’d been in a relationship with a Gamer. He didn’t know anything about it, really, but he was there when he got hauled away by some of the security officers and it wasn’t pretty.

 Michael told Gavin about the guy. How he’d been in his room in the morning, just talking and getting ready for breakfast, when two large men came marching in and called for him. The guy must’ve known why they were there because he looked so terrified. Michael could still see the look on his face in perfect clarity and it made a shiver run down his spine.

 He remembered that the man had pleaded with the Guards, had begged them not to take him away. He said he hadn’t done anything wrong. But the men came forward, dragged him off his bed, and out of the room. All the while he was crying out for Arryn, the Gamer he’d fallen in love with.

 “What happened to him?” Gavin asked softly. Michael looked away from the ceiling and over to Gavin who looked sad and sympathetic. Maybe even a tad angry. Michael was a little surprised by Gavin’s reactions, but he was sure they mirrored his own.

 “Didn’t see him for the rest of the day. Not until Ray and I came back for bed. He just looked…empty. I don’t know how else to explain it. We were all told to leave him alone and not mention anything that had happened. He never brought her up again, but he wasn’t on the ship much longer. After Arryn he only had one other Gamer before he left the ship. My buddy Geoff said that’s how it goes for all AIs who get into those situations, but it seems a little off to me,” Michael said. The whole ordeal made him feel uncomfortable, like they were hiding something and doing bad things to AIs who became involved with Gamers. “I like to think that he’s with her now, though,” Michael added.

 “He is,” Gavin said confidently and Michael furrowed his brows at him.

 “How the fuck do you know?”

 “Because I know, Michael.” Michael bit his lip. He figured he’d looked pretty concerned and that Gavin was trying to make him feel better, which he appreciated. Michael sat up in his chair and grabbed his pad.

 “C’mon, let’s get back to the game,” he said and Gavin nodded as he grabbed his own pad.

 “Who’s Ray?” Gavin asked as they started walking through the red desert they were now in. The sky was a dark red and the dirt nearly black, though half of it was aflame. Michael looked over at Gavin in confusion until he remembered he’d mentioned him earlier.

 “Ray’s my best friend,” Michael said. He thought back to the past couple days with his friends and smiled. “He’s an asshole, but he’s the best AI on the ship.”

 “Really?” Gavin asked, seemingly surprised. “Are you all ranked up there based on your gaming?” Michael nodded as he focused on walking through the desert, trying to find the safest way to the outskirts of town. He had a feeling that Gavin would somehow catch on fire, so he wanted to eliminate that threat as much as possible. “What number are you?”

 “Two.”

 “Two?! Are you really or are you just saying that?” Michael looked over and glared at Gavin.

 “I’m actually second, asshole. That’s why I have this fucking patch on my suit,” Michael said, gesturing to the Achievement Hunter logo on his shoulder.

 “That patch means you’re second?”

 “It means I’m in the top five.”

 “So you and Ray are the top two. Is that how you became friends?” Michael absent mindedly wondered why Gavin was so curious about his relationship with Ray, but he shrugged it off and continued to lead him through the desert. Before long they made it to the base of a small mountain. As they began to climb it, Michael told Gavin about how he’d met Ray.

 “Ray arrived on the ship about a year after I did and the mentor he was given was a friend of mine, so he started hanging out with us and our other two friends. Ray also got assigned to the bed next to me, so once I realized there was no getting rid of him we became friends.”

 “You didn’t like him when you two first met?”

 “No, it wasn’t that. I’ve just always been sort of…selective, I guess? When it comes to friends. I don’t know how to explain it without sounding like a total asshole. I can talk to just about anyone, but I have to make sure I can stand to be around them for hours at a time without wanting to rip their head off. Like I bet you make friends with everyone. You’re like a fucking Golden Retriever.” Gavin let out a short laugh.

 “I’m actually pretty selective as well. I’ve only got a few friends that I’m close with.” Michael found that hard to believe. Gavin just seemed so cheerful and friendly. Michael realized that even though he’d shared a bit about himself with Gavin, at least about his life on the ship, he didn’t know much about his Gamer.

 “Tell me about ‘em.”

 “What?”

 “You’re friends. Tell me about ‘em. What are they like?” The two were still climbing up the mountain, though they were just further than half way up. Michael looked over at Gavin in time to see his lips curl into a smile.

 “Well, my absolute best mate is Dan. He’s great. I’ve known him since kindergarten and he’s practically family.” Michael saw Gavin’s smile falter slightly.

 “What’s wrong?”

 “Nothing, I just,” Gavin shook his head. “Thinking about the future.” Michael waited for Gavin to continue and after a few moments he did. “Graduation’s in a few months and Dan’s going into military.” Gavin shrugged. “I’m gonna miss him, is all.”

 “It’s not like you won’t see him,” Michael offered, but it didn’t really look like Gavin was listening any more. Michael sighed and left Gavin to his thoughts as he continued up the mountain.

 “So, how’ve you been the past few days? Miss me?” Michael rolled his eyes and smiled.

 “Oh, yeah, I don’t know how I fucking survived without your dumb ass.” Gavin laughed.

 “What’d you do?”

 “Mostly hung out with the guys. We have this room on the ship for the top ranking AIs only, so we basically live there when we’re all together and play games and shit. It’s pretty fucking fun.”

 “Sounds top,” Gavin said. Michael nodded.

 “It’s tippy toppers, dude. What about you? How were the past few days?”

 “Bloody boring as hell,” Gavin said with a sigh. “All I did was study for exams. Well, try to at least. I’m just glad they’re done with and we can play again.” Michael smirked at him.

 “Me too, boi.” They moved in silence for a moment as the top of the mountain stretched before them. It was a rather large expanse, as if the mountain had been much taller but someone sliced it half way through. Michael held out a hand to Gavin to help pull him up to the top and Gavin whistled when he took a look around. It wasn’t much of a view, just a bunch of jagged rocks of varying sizes.

 “We should build a summer home up here,” Gavin said, made Michael laugh.

 “Hell yeah,” he said as he walked over to one of the larger rocks near them. “We can carve out a cave here-”

 “Make a nice garden over there-”

 “We’ve always talked about having fresh vegies.” Gavin squeeked out a laugh before continuing.

 “We’ll have a porch so we can sit and wait for the kids to come back from school.” Michael scrunched up his face at that. Gavin looked over at him. “What?”

 “I do _not_ want to have kids with you.”

 “What? Why not? We’d be amazing parents.”

 “I think our kids would be severely fucked up,” Michael said. Gavin continued walking around.

 “Alright, fine, no kids. But we at least need a- _AHHHHH_!” Gavin cried out, making Michael jump.

 “What the fuck, Gavin?” Michael yelled, but when he saw the boy’s character emerge from behind a rock, he screamed as well. Gavin was running toward Michael, but he was being chased by a large creature that appeared to be half warthog half wolf. It ran on it’s hind legs and stood over ten feet tall. Thankfully the creature seemed to be slower, but it wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

 “What the bollocking hell is that?” Gavin cried as he hid behind their summer home. Michael unsheathed his sword.

 “Gavin, equip your bow and get on top of a rock. Start shooting it while I attack it up close,” Michael barked out the commands and Gavin nodded before complying. The monster came charging at Michael and swung at him, but Michael jumped out of the way easily enough. “Aim for the neck,” he yelled out. The beast skid to a halt and landed on all fours as it turned to look back at Michael. It charged again, faster this time, and Michael readied his sword when an arrow whizzed past his head, narrowly missing his ear. “ _His_ neck, not mine!” Michael screamed. The arrow sunk into the dirt as the creature continued to advance on Michael. “Fuck,” he breathed.

 Michael jumped out of the way at the last second, avoided being hit, lashed out quickly, and wounded the beast behind one of it’s ankles. It howled loudly, the sound echoed throughout the mountain top. It snarled and bared it’s sharp fangs before rounding on Michael once more. “Michael, duck!” Gavin shouted and Michael didn’t hesitate. An arrow sailed over his head and past the beast, just barely missing his shoulder. Michael heard Gavin curse under his breath.

 The beast looked away from Michael and up to the top of a high rock and Michael’s eyes widened when he realized that it’d spotted Gavin. It quickly changed course and headed for the Brit, running right past Michael and not even bothering with him. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Michael muttered. “Get another arrow ready, Gav!” Michael raced after the thing and pulled a dagger out of his pouch before throwing it. It sunk into the back of it’s calf just as it’d begun to climb Gavin’s rock. Gavin let out a screech.

 Michael continued to run forward and the monster fell from the rock, howling in pain as Michael approached and swung his sword, but before Michael could make contact he heard a _thunk_. He looked down and saw an arrow wedged deep into it’s throat. He looked up to the top of the rock to see Gavin looking down, eyes wide in surprise. “Take that you bastard!” Gavin yelled after a moment and Michael laughed.

 “Nice shot, Gavy.”

 “Cheers, boi. Is it dead?”

 “I’m not-” another arrow shot down and hit the creature in it’s chest.

 “Thanks for the fucking warning, asshole,” Michael said and Gavin shrugged.

 “Have to be sure he’s dead, don’t we?” Michael rolled his eyes. Michael knelt down beside the creature as he removed a vile from the pouch on his waist. “What’re you doing?” Gavin asked before turning to climb down the back of the rock. Michael place the vile to the one of the puncture wounds and watched as it filled with the beast’s blood.

 “This is one of the things we need to give the Wizard,” he said as Gavin joined him. Once the vile was full he placed a cork in the top and put it back into his pouch. “C’mon, I want to get off this mountain before we have to stop for the day and we don’t have too much time left in the session.”

 “Alright. That fighting was pretty top, though. We should have a team name.” Michael snorted.

 “Uh, Team Nice Dynamite.”

 “Team Nice Dynamite? I like it.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Hi, Michael,” Gavin said softly.

 “Hey, Gav.” Michael sat down in his seat next to his boi and began to pull up the game, as per usual. “How’s it going?”

 “Pretty good, you?”

 “Pretty top,” he said and smiled when Gavin laughed, happy Michael had used one of his words. The boys began walking through the Nether and quickly arrived at the outskirts of town.

 “What happened yesterday with the town?” Gavin asked.

 “I’m not totally sure. The game spawned us weird. I asked Ryan and he said he’d never experienced anything like that, but he thinks it was a hidden level,” Michael finished with a shrug.

 “Pretty mental Easter egg,” Gavin said and Michael nodded in agreement. The pair walked around for a bit, Gavin just following Michael as they made their way to their next objective, only stopping when they needed to grab leaves from certain plants on the way. Michael looked over at Gavin, wondering why he was being so quiet, when he saw his eyes were half closed and he was slightly hunched over. He looked exhausted.

 “You okay?” Michael asked. Gavin looked over at him and, when he saw that Michael was watching him, straightened up in his seat a little.

 “Yeah, just tired,” he said.

 “I can fucking see that,” Michael dismissed. “Are you okay?” he asked again, and Gavin blinked. He looked like he wanted to shrug it off again, but he seemed to realize that Michael wasn’t going to let him. Gavin sighed.

 “I’m just really over school.” Michael nodded and something Gavin had said the previous week resurfaced in his mind.

 “You’re doing a project, right?”

 “Uh…yeah,” Gavin said with a weird expression on his face. He shook his head before continuing. “It’s a partner project and we’ve only got a few days to work on it. That’s why we had to play a bit later today.”

 “Hey, I’m not complaining. I got to sleep in,” Michael said with a playful grin, though he was only half joking. He liked playing with Gavin, but he barely got any sleep because of it. Gavin’s brows knit together.

 “What time is it on the ship?” he asked.

 “When we usually start? Around four.”

 “Are you serious?” Gavin asked, and Michael nodded.

 “Why didn’t you tell me? We don’t have to-”

 “And we didn’t have to meet today if you’re exhausted from school,” Michael interrupted. Gavin sighed and bit his lip.

 “This helps, though. I’d rather see you and be exhausted than not see you and sleep.” Michael couldn’t fight the heat that rushed to his cheeks as his eyes widened slightly. Gavin froze and his lips parted slightly. “I-I just mean, you know, playing helps relieve some of the stress,” he rushed and Michael nodded quickly as he looked away. He ran a hand through his curls and tried to get himself to stop blushing.

 “Uh, yeah, definitely,” Michael said. He licked his lips nervously. Why was he so nervous? “We shouldn’t play a full session today, though. I don’t want to be responsible when you die from sleep-deprivation.” Michael didn’t necessarily want to cut the session short, but he couldn’t help feeling concerned for Gavin’s health. Gavin nodded.

 “We’d better get to playing then.” The pair walked around in the game for a bit, Michael leading Gavin toward their next beastly battle, but Gavin kept yawning so Michael saved the game and opened it back to the title screen. “I can still play,” Gavin argued, but it fell flat when he yawned again halfway through his sentence. Michael shook his head.

 “You can barely keep your fucking eyes open.” Michael stood up and put his pad on his seat. “Get some rest, okay?” Gavin looked up at him and smiled softly.

 “Yes, Dr. Jones,” he said and Michael rolled his eyes.

 “I’ll see you tomorrow, asshole.”

 “Bye, Michael,” said Gavin, using that same soft voice he had when he’d welcomed Michael earlier.

 “Bye, Gavy.”

 Once Michael was back in his pod, he couldn’t help but think about what Gavin had said before, the words echoed through his mind on a loop. _I’d rather see you and be exhausted than not see you and sleep. This helps._ Michael chewed on his lip. Gavin was definitely not what he was used to. Who said stuff like that? Certainly none of the friends Michael had ever had. But that’s all it was, right? Friendly? Gavin was just expressing how he appreciates their friendship. But then why did Michael get so nervous when he’d said it? Maybe Michael was reading too much into it. Some people are more openly affectionate toward their friends. Perhaps Gavin was one of those people.

 “Why the fuck do I even care?” Michael asked under his breath. Why would he? He and Gavin _were_ friends, after all. And he liked hanging out with his Gamer as well, though he probably wouldn’t go out and say it to him. Michael sighed and opened the lid to his pod.

 As he walked out of the Floor he told himself he’d just been caught off guard, that’s all. That’s why he’d acted so nervous.

 He definitely didn’t think about Gavin at all as he made his way to meet up with the other Achievement Hunters.


	9. Chapter 9

Michael fell to the ground abruptly, the solid Nether dirt collided with his cheek, and a second later he was notified via his pad that he’d been murdered. “Gavin, you fucking mong! Stop fucking killing me!” he cried, only making his Gamer squeal even more with happiness. “I fucking hate you,” Michael spat as he respawned. “And why the hell are you so goddamn happy today?” Gavin laughed a moment longer before shrugging.

 “What’s wrong with being happy, you dope?”

 “Nothing. I’m just realizing that you’re even more annoying when you’re happy than you are when you’re tired,” Michael said. He walked back over to where Gavin had killed him and picked back up his sword before re-sheathing it.

 “But Michael,” Gavin whined, causing the AI to imitate him in a high-pitched, very bad British accent.

 “ _But Micoo_.” Michael could feel the boy’s eyes on him and he nearly rolled his eyes into the back of his head when he saw Gavin pouting at him. “Stop,” Michael said, which only made him pout harder. As much as he hated to admit it, Gavin was good at the sad puppy-dog look. “Fucking stop it, Gavin!”

 “But Michael,” he began again, still pouting and using that annoying voice. “Team Nice Dynamite.”

 “Team Nice Dynamite is dead, Gavin,” Michael said before he turned back to look at the screen and proceeded to walk away from Gavin.

 “What? Why?” he asked, sounding genuinely surprised and Michael had to work to keep any trace of amusement from his face.

 “You ruined it.”

 “Wha- how did I ruin it?”

 “You killed me three times in the past hour alone, Gavin. The Team’s been disbanded. It’s all your fucking fault.”

 “Michael,” he whined. He sounded so sad that Michael was worried he would burst out laughing at any moment. He decided to give the Brit the silent treatment, but it just resulted in Gavin continuously calling his name and, when that didn’t work, he added in circling around his character and blocking off his path, causing them to zigzag everywhere.

 “Michael,” he said, now sounding slightly annoyed. It was becoming slightly garbled and finally he couldn’t keep it in any longer. Michael laughed, harder than he’d laughed in a long time, and after a while he heard Gavin laughing along with him. Finally, when he was able to contain himself, he took a deep breath to steady himself before saying, “The team’s still dead, though.”

 “Michael!”

 “For fuck’s sake, Gav, shut up.”

 XXX

 “Did you see that?” Gavin cried. He and Michael had been walking around and Gavin had grown bored, causing him to randomly fire off an arrow. Shockingly, it hit small creature. The boys made their way over to it, Gavin running excitedly, and it appeared Gavin had killed a charred looking Nether rabbit. It was quite ugly, to be honest. Hairless, skin burned and black, tail aflame. Michael scrunched up his nose. “That’s amazing,” Gavin said, still grinning.

 “You’re like that fucking guy, what was his name again? Jim Ballsack?”

 “Mark Nutt! Oh, that reminds me!” Gavin tossed his pad on the ground and shot up out of his chair before quickly moving to his desk and rummaging through one of the crawers.

 “What are you doing?” Michael asked, confused by Gavin’s sudden excitement, but he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. Gavin came back a moment later and dropped something in Michael’s lap before sitting back down in his seat. Michael looked down to find some sports magazine. On the cover was a man, generic enough in features, holding a shiny gold medal. MARK NUTT WINS THE GOLD, said the caption.

 “Told you he was real,” Gavin said. Michael was too amused to make any snide comments. All he could manage was, “Mark fucking Nutt.” Michael marveled at the magazine for a moment longer before looking over at Gavin.

 “Why the fuck do you even have this?”

 “My aunt is a huge fan of the Olympics. I saw it in her coffee table and nicked it when she wasn’t looking.”

 “Gavin!” Michael cried in feigned shock. “Stealing from your aunt? You mad man!” Gavin rolled his eyes and shoved Michael’s shoulder making him laugh as he dropped the act. “I still can’t believe he’s a real person,” Michael said as he tossed the magazine back to Gavin who, in turn, tossed it across the floor. The two picked their pads back up and began playing again.

 “Are we almost to the next fight?” Gavin asked for the third time that day and Michael sighed. He wished they were at a place where he could just fast forward with codes, but they were close enough anyway that it wouldn’t matter.

 “ _Yes_ , Gavin, we’re almost fucking there.” Gavin let out a long exaggerated sigh.

 “I’m so bored,” he whined. This is what Michael was afraid of. Whenever Gavin got bored he would decide to dick around and try to entertain himself, which almost always resulted in either Michael’s, or his own, death.

 “I promise, Gav, we’re almost there,” he said, but when Gavin didn’t respond, he had a feeling it was already too late. His suspicions were proven correct when he heard a loud crack. “What the fuck are you doing now?” Michael asked, but when he turned around he realized that Gavin was shooting arrows randomly, the last one sunk into a nearby tree.

 “I thought the Nether was supposed to be cool,” he said as he shot off another one. Michael fought back a groan. Gavin was like a fucking annoying child on a road trip. _Are we there yet? Are we there yet? I’m bored. I’m hungry. Are we there yet?_ It was getting on Michael’s nerves. That’s when he had an idea.

 Michael quickly sifted through the codes and tweaked them slightly, adding in a few things here and there. Once he was finished he quickly returned to the controls and continued walking. “Honestly, can’t we just skip through all this sh- AHHHHH!” Michael began to laugh as he saw Gavin shoot an arrow into another tree, which happened to disrupt a family of Slime, little green cube monsters.

 Gavin began to run around screaming as the little creatures chased him, all the while yelling to Michael to help him. “Michael, help me! I need your protection!” Michael just laughed harder. “Michael, please!”

 “Alright, alright!” he said, but all he did was toss a dagger at Gavin’s feet. “There. Go fucking nuts, boi.” Gavin screamed again and grabbed the dagger as he stumbled on his feet. He lashed out at one of the Slime, successfully stabbing it. It disappeared, but then two smaller Slime took it’s place. Gavin screamed frantically, only making Michael laugh more. “How do you kill these bastards?!”

 “Keep hitting ‘em, Gav!” Michael choked out. Gavin kept squealing and stabbing while the Smile kept multiplying. Finally, he got all of the tiny Slime, making them disappear entirely. He dropped the dagger to the floor and Michael could feel his eyes on him. When he looked over, eyes watery from laughing, he could practically see the gears turning in Gavin’s head.

 “You did that, didn’t you,” he said, more accusing than asking.

 “What?” Michael asked. He tried to sound incredulous, but he couldn’t do it without grinning.

 “You smeggy little smeg pot.”

 “Team Nice Dynamite?”

 “Shut up, you Jersey bitch,” Gavin said, the corners of his lips twitching like he was trying to keep himself from smiling.

 XXX

 “Bloody hell, that took ages,” Gavin said as he knelt down in front of the giant wounded creature. Michael handed him a flask.

“Collect as many tears as you can,” he said and Gavin nodded as he held the flask to one of the creature’s enormous eyes.

“What is this thing?” he asked.

“It’s called a Ghast. They’re all over the fucking place here in the mountains.” The two boys had spent the past ten minutes trying to take down the large airborne beast, dodged it’s fire attacks and shot them back towards the Ghast, making it wound itself. Finally when they’d shot it out of the sky they made their way toward it. Gavin straightened up and handed the flask back to Michael, but he kept his eye on the Ghast. “He’ll be fine. Ghasts can heal themselves if they’re hit with their own fire charges. He’ll just be down for a little while.” Gavin nodded.

 “Alright, what do we need to get next?”

 “A blaze rod,” Michael responded. They wouldn’t have to travel too far to run into a Blaze, thankfully. Gavin opened his mouth to respond when they heard a phone vibrate. Gavin looked extremely confused for a moment before he shot out of his seat and ran to his desk to see who was calling. Michael paused the game as he waiting.

 “Hello?” Gavin asked as he walked back to his seat. “Oh, hey, Barb.” He was quiet as he listened to the person on the other line. “Nah, I’m just playing some video games,” he said and looked over to Michael. Michael raised a brow at the boy, but Gavin just smiled softly at him. An emotion flickered over his features and he blushed slightly. “Uh, right now?” Michael was beginning to feel slightly awkward as he sat there listening to half a conversation. He considered excusing himself or suggesting to cut the stream when Gavin spoke again. “Alright. I’ll see you soon. Bye Barbara.”

 Gavin put his phone down and grabbed his pad. “Shall we get back to it?” Gavin asked. Michael blinked.

 “Do you need to go somewhere or something?” Michael asked. Gavin shook his head at him.

 “Nah, Barbara’s coming over right now and-” Michael stopped listening then. Who was Barbara? Was that Gavin’s girlfriend? Michael felt his stomach turn at the thought. _So what if it’s his girlfriend? You and Gavin are just friends_ , he told himself. But then why did he feel weird? Was he…jealous? Michael shook his head.

 “We should stop for the day,” Michael blurted and Gavin blinked at him.

 “It’s fine, we can still play,” Gavin said, but Michael was already standing up. He felt stupid. Why did he feel so stupid? He didn’t have feelings for Gavin. At least, he didn’t think he did. No, he definitely _didn’t_. He couldn’t. This was Gavin. They were friends. _Just_ friends. Liking Gavin was impossible. And yet-

 “We’re close to five hours anyway,” Michael lied, words falling out of his mouth on their own. He needed to get back to the ship. He needed to think. And he definitely needed to not be at Gavin’s when this Barbara showed up.

 “Can’t we just play for a little bit longer? Barb won’t be here for another half-”

 “Sorry, Gavin. We’ll play later, okay?” He didn’t wait for Gavin to respond before closing the session. Michael took a deep breath as he was submersed into the darkness of his pod. _What the fuck is going on with me?_ Michael asked. _Do I really have feelings for Gavin? I mean, he’s a fucking idiot. And annoying. And an asshole._ Michael bit his lip. _Maybe it’s just a friendship jealousy. Like when you find out your best friend has another friend. That’s all. Nothing more_ , he tried.

 But the more he thought about Gavin, the more he realized how green his eyes were, how warm his smile was, how musical his laugh was. Gavin was attractive, Michael wasn’t denying that. There was no harm in finding someone good looking, even a Gamer. The problem was finding the boy beneath the features just as attractive.

 Michael tried to find another reason, another explanation for what he’d felt back in Gavin’s room, but the more he tried the more pointless he found it. He had, at the very least, a crush on Gavin; that much he allowed himself. He thought about earlier when he and Gavin had been laughing and playing and found himself smiling. _Goddamn it._ Michael sighed. _What if he-_ Michael began. He tried to stop the thought from forming but it was impossible. _What if he likes me back._

 Michael knew he was just being dumb. Acting like a thirteen year old girl. He didn’t even know if Gavin liked guys. Let alone a fucking AI. Besides, Gavin was probably perfectly happy dating Barbara. And even if he did like Michael, it could only end in disaster. What if RT found out? Michael thought back to the guy in his dorm and cringed slightly. He didn’t want to end up like that. Michael shoved open the door to the pod. _You’re not going to end up like him because nothing is going to happen between you and Gavin. He has a girlfriend. And all this is, is a stupid little crush. Nothing more. You can handle this._

He sat up and swung his legs over the edge. _Next time Gavin calls you in, you will be normal. Maybe slightly more professional, though._ Michael sat up a little straighter. _He’s never going to know about this. You’re going to finish Enchantment Level fucking Thirty and this whole thing will go away. You just have to stick in there and finish the fucking game._ Michael stood up and stretched his arms over his head. _Crushes are harmless. No one will ever know,_ he thought as he made his way out of the Floor room, nodding to Gus as he passed him.


	10. Chapter 10

Michael carried his tray to the back table as he laughed at the story Ray was telling him. “Seriously this guy has no fucking clue how to play the game. The only thing that’s keeping me from killing myself during a session is his sister.” Michael stopped laughing and raised his brows at his friend as they sat down beside each other.

 “She hot?”

 “She’s pretty fucking hot. And she’s a good gamer, too.”

 “You’ve seen her play?” Ray shrugged as he pushed around his breakfast with his fork.

 “Sometimes she takes his pad and plays for him.” Michael opened his mouth to respond when the rest of the Achievement Hunters joined their table.  

 “Look who fucking showed up to breakfast,” Geoff said, taking the seat in front of him. Michael rolled his eyes.

 “Yeah, why aren’t you with your Gamer?” Jack added. Michael just shrugged.

 “I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t want to play today,” Michael said, distracting himself by shoving some bacon into his mouth. If he was being honest, he was trying not to dwell on the fact that he’d slept in that morning. He didn’t know why Gavin hadn’t called him in that morning like always. He wondered if something was wrong. Then again, Gavin was probably just busy. Michael shouldn’t get too attached to seeing Gavin, anyway. Unfortunately, realizing his crush on the boy had only made him want to see him more. Michael sighed. He really needed to keep his head on straight.

 Michael had always hated crushes. They were stupid. You like someone, and they don’t know it, but they start to consume you. You’re constantly thinking about them. You wonder what they’re doing. How they’re doing. When you’ll see them next. Conversations with them replay in your head all day. They make your stomach knot and your heart stutter and your palms sweat. Michael didn’t relish the thought of another person having so much effect over him.

 Michael looked up at the guys and tuned back into their conversation, forcing all thoughts of Gavin to the back of his mind. “We should head over to the CR and play _Los Santos_ after this,” Geoff was saying and everyone agreed.

 “Are you and Gavin gaming at all today?” Ray asked.

 “Wait, wait, wait. _Gavin_?” Geoff asked and Michael froze instantly. _Ray you son of a bitch_. Michael took a moment to glare at Ray who stared back like a deer in headlights.

 “Yeah, his name is Gavin,” Michael sighed. Geoff knit his brows and stared at Michael seriously.

 “You two are getting pretty buddy-buddy, huh?” Michael just shrugged. He knew he shouldn’t be talking about it, especially not in the Reef. At breakfast. With a couple hundred other AIs sitting around them. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to care. What would be the point in lying, anyway? He decided it didn’t matter if the rest of his friends knew.

 “I think it’s nice,” Ryan said, and Michael gave him a half smile.

 “Same,” Ray began but Michael cut him off.

 “Shut the hell up, Ray.”

 “Just- be careful, Michael,” was all Geoff said. Michael wondered for a moment if he knew, if somehow Geoff just _knew,_ about the crush. “So, Los Santos?” Michael was about to agree when he felt his arm buzz. He looked at his band, though he already knew what it was going to say. REPORT TO THE FLOOR ROOM IMMEDIATELY. Michael felt both relieved and nervous, but he shoved both emotions aside as he clicked away the message.

 “I gotta-” he began, but the rest of the Achievement Hunters were already nodding.

 “Yeah, yeah, Gavin’s calling. We get it,” Geoff said and although he was smiling, he sounded a little annoyed. Michael frowned and Geoff noticed immediately. “Go on and have fun. We’ll all play some other time.”

 “Wait, we’re not playing anymore?” Ray asked suddenly.

 “Oh, no, we’re still playing,” Geoff whispered and Michael rolled his eyes. He did feel a little guilty though. He missed spending time with them and he knew they missed him as well. But what could he do? He wasn’t allowed to say no to a session. Not that he’d want to with Gavin anyway.

 Michael stood up and grabbed his tray. “I’ll come find you guys when I get back,” he said. The others all said their goodbyes and soon Michael was in route to the Floor.

 “You’re late,” Gus said one he’d arrived. Michael rolled his eyes.

 “When am I ever not?”

 “Name.” Michael just stared at him.

 “Must we do this every day?”

 “Name,” he emphasized. Michael let out a soft sigh.

 “Michael Jones.” He shook his head and smiled up at the other man, who was now holding a glass pad to his face and scanning him. “One of these days, Gustavo, I’m gonna break through those walls and see the beautiful man hiding behind them,” he joked. Gus lowered the pad to scowl at him.

 “Get the fuck out of here,” he said pointedly and Michael patted the man on the shoulder before laughing as he walked away. But the laughter was short lived when he remembered who he was going to see. Michael bit his lip. He didn’t know if it was going to be awkward or not seeing Gavin.

  _Well, you did freak out and bolt yesterday,_ Michael thought. _Yeah I probably could’ve handled that better._ Michael punched the code into the keypad and his pod opened up. _Maybe Gavin didn’t notice?_ He climbed in and sealed the pod door over him. It was going to be a long session.

 “Michael!” Gavin said happily when the AI appeared in his room. Michael offered him a half smile.

 “Hey, Gavin.” Michael looked over to where their chairs used to be, but in their place was now a small couch. Michael blinked at it. Gavin noticed Michael staring at it and he stretched his arms out, one on the arm rest and the other on the back of the couch, and rubbed the fabric.

 “Pretty nice, right? Got it last night. A neighbor was giving it away, barely used it at all, so I graciously took it off their hands.” Michael shook his head.

 “Always helping others,” he said sarcastically, but Gavin only smiled wider.

 “Well come on, then, have a sit,” he said, patting the space beside him. Michael chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before moving forward. _Don’t make this weird,_ he told himself. _It’s just Gavin, you’ve sat next to him tons of time. Just because you have a fucking crush doesn’t mean you get to make this weird._ The two were quiet for a moment, Michael trying his damnedest not to touch Gavin accidentally and Gavin watching him curiously. “How was your morning?” Gavin asked suddenly.

 “Uh, good,” Michael responded, tried to relax his muscles so he wasn’t so fucking stiff.

 “Did you get to sleep in?” Michael looked over at him quizzically before the light bulb went off in his head.

 “Gavin, you didn’t have to-”

 “I know. But I felt guilty about waking you up so early every damn day. What time is it now?” Michael ignored the slight flare of heat in his chest at Gavin’s words. Sometimes Michael had a hard time remembering that Gavin was his Gamer _and_ his friend, rather than just one or the other. Gavin had always treated him like another human being, rather than simply an AI. It was probably one of the reasons Michael liked him so much.

 “It’s-uh…eight, I think,” Michael mumbled. Gavin nodded. “Thanks, Gav,” he said. Gavin smiled softly at him. “But really, don’t worry about me. I’m fine with our regular time,” he tried, but he had a feeling he and Gavin would be playing later from then on. Gavin simply shrugged and Michael pulled up the game to fill the silence. “Ready to kill a Blaze?”

 “Ye.” The two made their way through the Nether, continuing their trek through the mountains until they came upon a cave built out of the rock.

 “C’mon,” Michael said, motioning to the cave with a jerk of his head.

 “Blazes live in caves?”

 “Nah, but it should lead us to a spawner.”

 “A spawner?” Gavin questioned. “What are you on about?”

 “You’ll find out soon enough.” The two walked through the cave in silence and Michael was thankful that the Nether was known for being on fire so they never had to carry any torches. Unfortunately the search for a Blaze ended up taking a lot longer than Michael had hoped, since Gavin insisted on leading the way and got them lost in the labyrinth of tunnels.

 Suddenly, Michael heard a high pitched wail muffled in the distance. “Did you hear that?”

 “Was that a Ghast?” he asked, both boys frozen in the middle of the tunnel. “I thought they only lived above ground.”

 “They do, which means we’re close to an outing.” The pair quickened their pace as they followed the cries and before long they found themselves in a sort of stone foyer that lead out to a long bridge. On the other side was another stone foyer built out of a nearby mountain. Above the bridge were at least three Ghasts. And inside the other foyer, Michael could see a Blaze spawner. “There it is!” he cried and pointed. Gavin’s eyes widened slightly.  

 “Bugger me.”

 “Let’s go,” Michael began and charged forward out into the open.

 “Michael, wait!” Gavin cried, running to catch up to him. Michael heard a Ghast wail, the sound piercing his ears and ringing through his head. Gavin squeaked behind him, and a moment later the bridge caught on fire beside them.

 “So much for not being seen,” Michael mumbled under his breath before Gavin yelled, “Leg it!!” The two began tapping their pads at full speed, making their characters sprint forward. Michael could hear the Ghasts throwing fireballs at their backs, felt the bridge rumble with each attack. The foyer was in clear view now. Just a little further…

 With one last screech from Gavin, the two were under the cover of the mountain, safe from the Ghasts. They stopped moving and looked back outside, watching the Ghasts float around aimlessly as their characters caught their breaths and recharged their stamina. “Mungy little pricks,” Gavin spat, and Michael laughed.

 “That was _fucking close_ ,” Michael breathed. Michael turned around to look behind them when he froze. “Spoke too soon.” In all the suspense he’d forgotten that were headed for a spawner, and there were currently five Blaze floating behind them, with more bound to appear. “ _Fuck me_.”

 “Michael, what’s-” Gavin cut off with a garbled squawk as he turned around. The Blaze all looked over at them simultaneously. “How do we fight them?” Gavin asked quickly.

 “Swords. We have to kill them, but we have to destroy the spawner otherwise more will keep coming.”

 “How the bloody hell do we destroy the spawner?”

 “Swords. Our best bet is for one of us to distract the Blazes while the other breaks the spawner.”

 “Alright. You fight the Blazes,” Gavin said and Michael glared over at him. “What? You’re Mogar! Do your warrior shite while I break the spawner.” Michael sighed and rolled his eyes. Although he didn’t want to take on five Blazes at once, he knew it was the better option.

 “Fine,” he said before tapping on his pad and generating a sword for Gavin. “Take this and run to the spawner, I’ll cover you.” Gavin nodded, took the sword, and waited for Michael to run forward and start attacking before making his escape toward the spawner.

 Michael made quick work of the first Blaze, slashing and stabbing furiously at it until it fell to the ground. Luckily, he’d fought many Blazes before in his play throughs of Enchantment Level 30. Unfortunately, taking on three simultaneously was a bit harder than just one. “How’s it going over there, Gavin?” Michael called as he blocked an attack. All he got in response was a squeal. “Are you fucking hitting it or not?” he asked, wanted to be sure Gavin was actually doing something rather than just watching.

 “Yeah but the bloody thing keeps spawning more of these bastards!”

 “Ignore the bastards and hit the fucking spawner! Once that bitch’s gone they’ll stop popping up!”

 “I’m trying!”

 “Try harder, you fuck!”

 “Shut the hell up, you ginger bitch!” Michael blinked at he blocked another attack from a Blaze.

 “Okay, well I’m not ginger,” Michael said and he instantly felt Gavin’s eyes on him.

 “What color’s your hair?”

 “It’s brown, thanks for noticing,” he joked. He quickly glanced over at Gavin before looking back at the screen. “You can admire my beauty later, Gavin. Keep hitting the fucking spawner.” He saw Gavin look away out of his peripheral vision and Michael forced his eyes to stay on the screen as a slight heat crept up on his cheeks. _Am I going to fucking blush anytime he looks at me now? For fuck’s sake, Michael, calm down_. Gavin let out a yell of victory.

 “It got absolutely mullered!” he said happily. Michael smiled at his cheerfulness, but his brows knit together as he continued to fight the remaining Blazes.

 “Hey Gavin, that’s really fucking great, I’m fucking proud of you, boi. But I’d love it if you could fucking help me out over here.”

 “Coming, boi,” he called and soon they’d killed the last of the Blazes with only a couple minor burns and cuts.

 “You got fucked by Team Nice Dynamite!” Michael yelled as he bent down to pick up a couple of Blaze rods from their fallen bodies and put them in his pouch as well as some glow stone powder. Gavin laughed.

 “We make a pretty good team,” he said and Michael nodded.

 “Hell yeah we do, Gavy.”

 XXX

 “So much for your murder break, Ryan,” Michael said as the group left the Creation Room. They’d spent the past two hours after dinner playing _Los Santos_. It turned out that Jack got called into a session earlier so they waited to play together.

 “Hey, if I hadn’t killed all those cops you guys wouldn’t have gotten away in the Titan.”

 “Oh, please. Don’t fucking pretend you did it for us,” Geoff said.

 “No, guys, I didn’t _want_ to kill them,” Michael said, imitating Ryan. “I hated watching my bullets sink into their flesh and the light leave their eyes.” Ryan looked at him incredulously.

 “They heist wouldn’t have worked if the cops had lived! They would’ve been on our asses the entire time!”

 “The heist didn’t work at all, Ryan! We all fucking exploded!”

 “W.A.F.F.L.E., guys. W.A.F.F.L.E.,” Ray said and everyone stopped walking and turned to look at him.

 “What the fuck are you talking about?” Geoff asked, voicing what they all were thinking.

 “W.A.F.F.L.E. We’re All Friends, Friends Love Each other.”

 “Each other is two words, dumbass,” Ryan said. Everyone began to laugh as Ray knit his brows together, seemed to think very hard about it. Finally he shrugged and smiled.

 “Fine. W.A.F.F.L.E.O.”

 “Fucking Christ, Ray,” Michael muttered once his laughter had died down.

 “Good to know RT picks only the smartest people for the AI Program,” Geoff said. The group went into the lift and came out on the fourth floor. As they walked through the main corridor, Michael could hear voices coming from the Refectory, those who had been in session and were just then eating their dinner. Finally they reached Michael and Ray’s dorm.

 “See you guys tomorrow,” the Gents said.

 “Goodnight!” Michael said back.

 “W.A.F.F.L.E.O.,” Jack called.

 “Fuck off, Jack,” he said, throwing up his middle finger as he turned and walked toward his bed. The other three laughed and walked off while Michael went over to his own bed and sat down on the edge. He looked over at his nightstand and tapped on the glass top, illuminating it. “Don’t forget to take your tab,” Ray said over his shoulder and Michael rolled his eyes. As if he wasn’t already getting it.

 “Thanks, mom.” Michael tapped in that he was going to bed and a small cylinder emerged from the glass. Michael grabbed it and slid off the top, revealing a one inch blue square. He took it out and placed it on his tongue, felt it dissolve instantly and leave my mouth in a flurry of mint. He placed the cylinder back in its place and watched as it disappeared once more. SLEEP WELL, the glass read before it went dark once more. Michael sighed and slipped off his shoes.

 “I’m so fucking tired,” Ray said as he lay down and buried his face into his pillow. Michael lay back in his own bed and folded an arm behind his head. It felt good to lie down, but he didn’t exactly feel tired. Michael sighed and closed his eyes.

 A moment later though, he felt his arm buzz and his eyes flew open. Michael raised his arm and read the red words quickly that summoned him to the Floor. He looked around the room curiously and noticed that a few more bodies were in bed. How long had he been asleep?

 Michael stood up and slid on his shoes before heading down to the Floor. Once he was there he got into his pod and found himself in Gavin’s room not long after. “Hey, Michael,” Gavin said. The room looked slightly darker than usual, the lighting was different, and Gavin had grey crescents under his eyes. He smiled at Michael sleepily.

 “Dude have you slept at all since I last saw you?”

 “Not much,” Gavin admitted. “I almost didn’t call you because I thought you might be asleep but I couldn’t sleep so I just thought-”

 “Don’t worry about it, boi,” Michael interrupted. He walked over to Gavin’s couch and sat down beside him. He wasn’t completely awake yet, but Michael stifled a yawn as he pulled up the game. “What time is it?” he asked, the question still lingered in his thoughts.

 “It’s about six AM here,” he said. Michael sighed. He’d only been asleep for about an hour then. “Wait,” Michael began as their characters spawned. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Gavin blinked at him and Michael wondered if Gavin was even listening. He looked so tired and Michael felt bad for him. He wondered why the boy hadn’t gotten any sleep.

 “What are you on about?”

 “I mean, I don’t want to wake anyone up,” Michael said. Gavin stared at him blankly and Michael wondered if he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open but then he smiled his goofy grin, though his eyes were still glassy with fatigue.

 “My folks have already left for work and my brother spent the night with a mate. You’re free to rage to your hearts content.” Michael smiled back at him, but he made a mental note to dial back the anger as much as possible. He could tell that Gavin wasn’t one-hundred percent there and he didn’t want to go overboard with the yelling.

 The two entered the game and Michael explained that they only had one other item they needed in The Nether before they could head back to the Time Wizard. As they walked, though, Michael heard Gavin sigh heavily beside him. “You okay?” he asked, but when he looked over at Gavin the boy put his pad down.

 “Can we stop playing?” he asked and Michael smiled softly at him before pausing the game.

 “Yeah, of course. Finally falling asleep?” Gavin shook his head, though, and Michael knit his brows together.

 “Nah, I just don’t feel much like playing. Can we just talk?” Michael looked down for a minute before nodding his head.

 “Sure, boi.” He unpaused the game and wrote in some codes so their characters would meander slowly through the world. It was just a precaution; he didn’t want anyone to see that he’d been in a session when they weren’t playing. That would raise suspicions and, though he and Gavin were just friends, he didn’t want RT to start watching them. Michael placed his pad down and relaxed against the cushions as Gavin tucked his knees up against his chest. They were both quiet for a moment before Michael spoke up. “So, what do you want to talk about?”

 “How old are you?” he asked, his eyes still slightly drooped from exhaustion.

 “Uh, seventeen? Why?” Gavin shrugged.

 “Just curious.”

 “Okay.” Michael dragged out the word. Out of all the things Gavin could’ve wanted to talk about, he didn’t expect his age to come up at all. “Any other burning questions you have?” Gavin seemed to be thinking about something. “What?”

 “I just- you said you’re not allowed to have relationships with Gamers, right?” Michael swallowed hard before nodding. Where was Gavin going with this? Despite himself, Michael felt his heartbeat quicken. “Are you allowed to have them with other AIs?” Michael blinked at him.

 “I mean, yeah. There’s certain rules like you have to sleep in your own bed and shit but, yeah. They don’t have any problems with dating other people on the ship.” Gavin hummed and nodded slowly.

 “Are you?” he asked. “Dating anyone, I mean.” Michael chewed on the inside of his cheek. This was _definitely_ not where he expected the conversation to go.

 “No I, uh,” he cleared his throat, “I’ve actually never dated anyone before,” he finished lamely. Gavin raised his brows at that.

 “Really?” Michael looked away as he felt his cheeks heat up.

 “Well I was twelve when I joined RT and, I don’t know, it never happened on the ship either.” Gavin continued to stare at him with the same expression. Finally, Michael called him out on it. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Gavin blinked and shook his head.

 “Sorry, just surprised, is all.” Michael was about to ask why when Gavin spoke again. “So have you never kissed anyone then?” If Michael wasn’t blushing before, he definitely was now. Why was Gavin so fucking curious about Michael’s love life?

 “No, I haven’t,” he said quietly. He really wanted the subject to change. He didn’t care what to, but talking to his crush about his embarrassing relationship past, or lack thereof, made Michael want to die. “What about you? How long have you been dating your girlfriend?” Gavin was quiet for a moment until he burst into laughter. Michael felt so lost and he was sure it was plainly written on his face because Gavin kept trying to explain but he couldn’t over his fits of squeaky giggling.

 “Sorry, my what?” he finally choked out. Michael was completely lost.

 “Your- do you not have a girlfriend?” Gavin let out another chuckle.

 “Why do you think I have a girlfriend?” he asked, not really explaining anything.

 “The chick that came over the other day. I figured she was your-”

 “Who, Barbara? God no,” he said, amusement covering up any previous signs of exhaustion. “Barb’s one of my best friends. She’s also my partner for that project I told you about. Definitely not dating,” he said, relaxing his head against the back cushion. “She’s not exactly my type.”

 “Why not?”

 “Well for starters, she’s a she.” Michael looked at him quietly before it clicked in his head. _Oh._ Gavin smiled softly at him, his lids growing heavy once more. “Yeah, ‘oh.’” Michael blinked. He didn’t know he’d said that out loud. He could feel his pulse quicken once more. _Relax, dumbass. Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s interested in you._ Michael tried to tell himself that didn’t want Gavin to be interested anyway, but it was becoming absolutely pointless at this point. _You like the guy. There’s no fucking point in lying to yourself._

 “Do you have a boyfriend then?” he asked before he could stop himself. Gavin sighed and shook his head. His eyes were getting heavier but he looked like he was fighting to keep them open. Michael smiled. He had to admit, Sleepy Gavin was fucking adorable.

 “You can go to sleep, Gav,” he said softly. Gavin’s eyes were closed now, but he moved his head a fraction.

 “’M not tired,” he mumbled almost incoherently.

 “Yeah, I can tell,” he said, still keeping his voice low. He bent over and picked his pad off the ground before saving and quitting out of their game. “I’ll see you soon, okay Gavy?”

 “Mkay, Michael,” he breathed. Michael grabbed a blanket from a basket across the floor and quickly draped it over the boy before closing the session, the sound of his deep, even breaths filled his thoughts as he was submersed into darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

When Michael got back into the dorm it was still fairly dark, the ship’s lights still dimmed for night time. Michael sat down on the edge of his bed and kicked off his shoes before lying back against the pillows. He was unable to remove the grin he’d been wearing since he’d ended his session with Gavin, but he decided that in the darkness he was safe to let himself feel.

 “What are you doing?” Michael heard a voice ask and he looked over to see Ray sitting up in his bed and staring at him.

 “What do you mean, what am I doing?” he asked. Ray scoffed.

 “You’re smiling like a girl who just got her first kiss,” he said, though he kept his voice low. Michael could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks and was thankful for the low lighting.

 “Ray, please,” he said, using his normal teasing tone, “you know you’re the only one for me.”

 “Seriously, Michael,” Ray spoke, and his tone made Michael drop the act entirely. “I’m not an idiot.” Michael sighed, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t feel like he really needed to. Ray knew, or at least assumed, and Michael knew he could trust his best friend. “God dammit,” Ray muttered before he got up and moved over to Michael’s bed. “Scoot over,” he whispered as he nudged Michael’s arm and Michael complied immediately. They lay next to each other for a moment in silence, both on their backs just staring up at the ceiling. “So… Gavin,” Ray said quietly as he looked over and Michael nodded.

 “Uh huh.”

 “This is a very bad idea,” he offered. Michael nodded again.

 “Uh huh.”

 “Seriously, probably the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”

 “Yeah, no shit, Ray,” he said, smiling slightly though his stomach was in knots.

 “So, are you two-” Michael shook his head.

 “No. And I’m not sure we ever will be I just-” Michael ran a hand through his curls. “I don’t know what to do, Ray. He has no fucking clue, but,” Michael trailed off. He didn’t want to say it out loud. If he said it out loud he wouldn’t be able to take it back. Saying it out loud would make it real. Definite.

 “Do you want him to?” Michael looked over at Ray then. “Say you told him, and he felt the same way, would you want a relationship?” Michael squeezed his eyes shut and let out a soft groan.

 “I don’t know, Ray. I’ve barely let myself think about this shit at all.” Michael opened his eyes and sighed as he turned his attention back toward the ceiling. “Besides, those relationships have a staggeringly low success rate.” Michael’s eyes flitted unconsciously to the last bed at the end of the room and Ray seemed to notice.

 “Look, Miles was an idiot. All he ever did was talk about Arryn. That’s why he got caught. Just because that shit happened to him doesn’t mean it would happen to you.” Michael wasn’t so sure, though. Besides, he only had a little over a year left on the ship. Did he really want to jeopardize that over a fling with his Gamer? Michael shook his head.

 “Wait, why are we even talking about this like it’s happening? We’re still just friends, and I doubt he’ll ever think of me as anything else. Why would he?” Ray rolled his eyes.

 “Oh, shut up. You and I both know we’ve had this conversation before. If I were gay and you-”

 “Yeah, I know, we’d bang into the sunset. Fucking Christ, Ray,” Michael said, letting out a soft laugh. “I don’t know if _he_ feels that way, though. Besides, it’s about more than just…appearances.”

 “You think he’s straight?”

 “Actually, no. I know he’s not.” Ray raised his brows. “He told me tonight that he’s gay.”

 “How the fuck did that come up?”

 “I asked if he was dating this chick and he said no and that he’s gay,” he said with a shrug.

 “Did you tell him you’re gay, too?” Michael scoffed at him.

 “Yeah, and then we had a big gay party and fucked each other’s asses. No, he pretty much fell asleep after that.”

 “Okay, well, if you know he’s gay, than what are you worried about? You two obviously get along great, since you see each other every fucking day. What would be the problem?” Michael shook his head minutely. How was Ray ignoring the most important problem in his hypothetical relationship with Gavin?

 “How about the fact that I live on a fucking spaceship,” Michael deadpanned. Ray shrugged.

 “Who gives a shit?” Now it was Michael’s turn to raise his brows at the boy. “Seriously, I would think that’s pretty fucking low on the list of worries. I mean, it’s not like you don’t get to see each other. You’re literally obligated to see the other person. And once you’re there you can do whatever the fuck you want. Well, as long as you stay inside the room.” Michael shook his head slowly.

 “You really think it’d be okay?” he asked, completely stunned. He’d never heard anyone speak so candidly about AI/Gamer relationships, especially someone who was for them.

 “You don’t always get to choose who you like,” Ray said, and the tone in his voice made Michael wonder.

 “Ray,” he began but Ray shook his head.

 “No, we’re talking about you,” he said seriously, but Michael made a mental note to ask Ray about it later. He wondered fleetingly if this was about that girl he was talking about earlier, the sister of his Gamer. “If you didn’t have to worry about any of that, would you want to date him?” Michael chewed the inside of his cheek. He still felt nervous about saying it out loud, but he figured in the darkness with his best friend was the best place for it to happen.

 “Yeah. Yeah, I would.”

 “Then maybe you should consider-” Ray cut off when they heard a shuffle and saw another body shoot up in their bed. _He must’ve been called into a session_ , Michael thought. He heard the guy sigh heavily before he got up and trudged out of the dorm. The two boys remained in silence for another minute. “Maybe you should consider t-” Ray was cut off once again, though this time by the lights in the room brightening. Was it really seven AM already? Bodies in other beds started shifting, some waking up, while another person came striding in and flopped onto their bed, just coming back from a session. “Consider telling him,” Ray said, finally finishing his sentence.

 Michael looked back over at his friend before sitting up. He rubbed his eyes with the balls of his palms as his body reminded him of his lack of sleep. “We both know I won’t do that,” he said quietly, though part of him wished he had the balls to do it. To just go up to Gavin and tell him he liked him. To take a risk for the slim chance that Gavin felt the same. Michael sighed internally. His dad used to always say, “All you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Twenty seconds to do anything, no matter how embarrassing it may seem. I promise you, something great will come of it.”

 “You hungry?” Ray asked and Michael nodded. As the two stood up and made their way out of the dorm, Michael wondered distantly if he’d ever be able to gather enough courage to tell Gavin how he felt.


	12. Chapter 12

“It feels weird having lunch with you guys,” Michael said as he shoveled pasta salad into his mouth.

 “Seriously, breakfast _and_ lunch? Now you’re just spoiling us,” Geoff said and Michael flipped him off. Geoff just laughed. “But really. We spent last night with you, too. We’re getting kind of tired of you.”

 “Gee, thanks, Geoffrey. Love you, too.”

 “I’m surprised Gavin hasn’t called you in yet today,” Jack spoke up, but Michael just shrugged. He had absolutely no intention of telling them he’d seen Gavin in the middle of the night. Hell, he probably wouldn’t have told Ray if the boy hadn’t seen him return.

 “He’s probably just enjoying his weekend,” Michael said, though he hoped Gavin was getting some rest; he’d looked absolutely terrible the previous night. Michael took another bite of his lunch when he saw a blue light flash out of the corner of his eye. He furrowed his brow as he looked down at his wrist. 1 NEW MESSAGE.

 “Tell your mom I say hi,” Geoff said as he noticed the blue lettering.

 “Fuck off, Geoff,” Michael muttered before clicking open the message. He read it over before freezing and then he read it a few more times to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: HEY BOI. RESPOND? Michael blinked a few more times before tapping RESPOND. A small keypad projected out of the band and Michael quickly jotted out his reply. HOW THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT? Michael hit send and lowered his arm before he looked around at the table, made sure no one else noticed anything. How was it possible Gavin could message him? Michael saw Ray give him a questioning glance but Michael just shook his head.

 A moment later he got another message. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: =D. RESPOND? Michael bit back a growl of frustration before writing back. GAVIN >:( HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THAT? Michael bit his lip as he awaited another reply, but Gavin seemed to be taking his sweet time. He let out a quiet huff as he decided to continue eating, but the moment he took a bite out of his sandwich, Gavin replied. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: YOU KNOW HOW YOU CAN MESSAGE PEOPLE ON YOUR PAD? I WAS JUST MESSAGING DAN AND I WAS WONDERING IF IT’D WORK IF I SENT ONE TO YOU. APPARETNLY IT DOES =D. RESPOND?

 Michael thought back to before he was on the ship and, though it’d been a few years, he remembered messaging Kerry via gamertags about when to get on and play together. He’d never even considered the fact that it could work between Gamers and AIs. Though, now that he thought about it he should’ve known it was possible. Everyone on the ship had messaging capabilities on their wristbands so they could communicate with family members and loved ones at home as they pleased. He’d just never heard of anyone messaging their Gamer. Michael was about to reply when another message came in. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: YOU FREE TO PLAY, BOI? RESPOND? Michael felt his lips tug up into a smile before he could stop them and replied, YE.

 Michael felt eyes on him and he looked up to see Ray staring at him with one brow raised. “Why are you smiling like that?” Michael immediately wiped his face clear of any emotion.

 “What are you talking about?” he asked. Ray opened his mouth to respond when Michael’s arm buzzed. He clicked it without looking before he turned to the rest of the guys. “Well, I gotta go. Duty calls.” He stood up as he heard the others say goodbye as well as throw in a few mild jokes about him being in love with his Gamer. Michael simply called over his shoulder for them to fuck off, though he smiled as he said it.

 When Michael got into his pod and appeared in Gavin’s room, the other boy grinned at him from the couch. “How cool is that?” Gavin asked, his smile widened. Michael couldn’t help but smile back as he came forward and sat down beside him.

 “Yeah, alright, it’s pretty fucking cool,” he said, knowing Gavin was referring to the messaging. “Now I don’t have to be in a session for you to annoy the shit out of me,” Michael said in feigned seriousness and Gavin’s smile faltered. Michael looked at him for a moment before rolling his eyes. “I’m just messing around, Gavin. Jesus Christ, don’t start crying.” Gavin let out a short laugh before shoving Michael’s arm. Michael leaned back as he pulled open the game and the two went out to get their last item. Luckily, they were spawned right next to their last creature, a Magma Cube, and slayed it easily enough. 

 “Is that it then?”

 “That’s it for the Nether,” Michael confirmed. “Time to head back through the portal and bring this shit to the Wizard,” Michael said as he picked up some magma cream and put it in his pouch with the other items.

 “That wasn’t too bad. Hey, can we fast travel back to the top?”

 “What, like back to the kingdom?”

 “Yeah.”

 “Sure, boi.” Michael began to tap away at the pad and a moment later they were back in front of the portal. The two stepped inside the purple mist and when they stepped outside they were back on the sunny cliff side.

 “Michael?” Gavin asked and Michael held his breath. Every other time he’d used that tone, he’d asked Michael some sort of personal question. He could only imagine where the Brit was headed this time. Michael hummed in response, letting Gavin know he could continue. “Did I fall asleep this morning?” Michael laughed softly.

 “You absolutely did.”

 “Bloody hell. I remember talking to you one moment and the next it was bloody noon and you were gone.” Michael gave him a look.

 “Did you want me to fucking hang out until you woke up? Watch over you while you sleep or something?” he asked and Gavin laughed.

 “I was just having a kip, you could’ve waited.” Michael shook his head and smiled. “Hey, did you mean what you said earlier?”

 “You’re going to have to be a little more specific, Gav.”

 “What you said about never having been in a relationship,” he said and Michael just knew he was blushing. _Why the fuck are you bringing this up again_ , Michael whined internally.

 “How many fucking times did we go over this earlier? I’m being one hundred percent honest. Never dated. Never kissed.”

 “That’s unbelievable,” Gavin muttered. Michael turned to him to ask why he was so fixated on it when Gavin spoke again. “You’ve liked people though, yeah? Or are you just not interested at all?” Why they were still talking about this, Michael had no clue. Talking to his crush about whether or not he gets crushes was one of the most awkward experiences of Michael’s seventeen years of life.

 “Yeah, I get crushes,” he said and hoped the sharp undertone in his voice would make Gavin drop the subject. Unfortunately, he forgot that this was _Gavin_ he was talking to.

 “Do you have one now?” Michael wished more than anything that the session would cut out. That something would go wrong on the ship and their connection would be severed. Maybe he could kill the session and tell Gavin later that there was a malfunction. But he knew that even if he did, Gavin would most likely bring it up again the next time they were together. He definitely wasn’t one to drop topics. Hell, he’d probably just message Michael instead of waiting to be in the same room again.

 “Why are you so fucking interested anyway?” he asked, knowing that he’d probably have to answer Gavin’s question at some point, but he wanted Gavin to answer one of his own first. He fought back the voice in his head that hoped Gavin would say he was so interested because he was interested in Michael.

 “I told you about me this morning,” he argued and Michael rolled his eyes.

 “Bullshit, Gavin. You told me you didn’t have a girlfriend, I told you I didn’t either. That’s even right there. You can’t use that as a fucking argument.”

 “Alright, fine! I’m not allowed to just be curious?”

 “You’re a prick, you know that?”

 “Does that mean you’re not going to tell me?” Gavin asked and Michael let out a long deep breath. Gavin _definitely_ knew how to get on his nerves, but he decided he would just bite back the animosity and answer his fucking question so they could be done with the conversation already and back to playing _Enchantment_.

 “Fucking alright already. I do have a crush on someone right now.” Gavin quieted down and stared at Michael, eyes slightly widened.

 “You do?”

 “Yeah,” he said, not even bothering to hide his annoyance at having to say it out loud.

 “That- that’s great. Who is it?” Michael forced himself to stay composed.

 “One of my idiot friends,” Michael said pointedly. He hated the way that Gavin got under his skin. He hated that Gavin was so pushy. He also hated that he couldn’t bring himself to say no to Gavin, simply because he didn’t want to. He wanted to be himself with Gavin and wanted the boy to know him. Part of him was elated that Gavin continuously wanted to know him as well, but he was also irritated by it. He didn’t like being put on the spot, and he also didn’t like being vulnerable around other people who weren’t opening up as well. It made him feel uncomfortable. Like a patient in a hospital being prodded and examined.

 “That’s great, Michael,” Gavin said softly and Michael blinked at him. Gavin’s face fell for a moment, but a fraction of a second later he smiled, his eyes brightened, and Michael thought maybe he’d only imagined the slight frown. But his eyes we’re as bright as normal, his smile wasn’t as genuine. “I hope it works out well for you.” Okay, was it Michael’s imagination, or did Gavin seem…upset? Michael was pretty sure that, though he did wanted Gavin to be at least a _little_ jealous, he wasn’t convincing himself of a reaction that wasn’t there. “Shall we get back to playing, then?” Gavin asked as he took his pad and began walking back across the large stones and toward the solid cliff. Michael didn’t start playing again, though. He kept his eyes on Gavin, who seemed intent on keeping his own on the screen.

 “Gavin?” Michael asked. Gavin looked over and smiled widely.

 “You kind of need your pad to play, you donut,” Gavin joked and looked back at the screen. Michael watched him for a moment longer before grabbing his pad with a sigh. It was then Michael was absolutely convinced it wasn’t his imagination. There was something off about Gavin, and Michael was pretty damn sure it had to do with his having a crush. Did that mean that Gavin had feelings for him as well? Just the thought made Michael’s heart race.

 “Gavin?” he tried again, wanted to get _somewhere_ because if Gavin did feel the same way, Michael decided was ready. He was ready to finally have that connection with someone. To be intimate. And not just in a physical way, but to like someone and know that they liked him back. To share the most personal things about himself and be deemed worthy to know someone else’s. He craved it, Michael realized. Though he’d had crushes and liked people before, Michael realized that Gavin was different. Gavin had always been different. Gavin had treated him like a person. Gavin had wanted to know about his past. About his likes and dislikes. Gavin made him happy and Michael realized then that Gavin was the first person Michael had ever _really_ wanted to be with. He wanted to stay in that room with Gavin forever, even if all they did was play _Enchantment Level 30_ for eternity.

  _Twenty seconds, right? That’s all I need. A lot can happen in twenty seconds_ , Michael thought. “Gavin,” he said once more, steeled himself and tried to muster up any and all courage he could. _Don’t pussy out. Don’t pussy out. Don’t pussy out._ Michael opened his mouth, the words on the tip of his tongue, ready to take a leap and say everything he felt, when Gavin sighed heavily beside him.

 “Michael, I’m still pretty tired,” he said, and Michael froze, the words caught just before they could leave his lips. “Do you think we could cut this session short?” Michael blinked in confusion. _What?_ Gavin looked over at him and smiled sheepishly.

 “Uh…are you sure?” _I kind of have something to tell you, asshole._

 “Yeah, I think I just need some more sleep.” _Seriously?!_

 “Um, s-sure, Gavin. Of course,” he said. _God dammit. So much for twenty seconds._ Michael saved and quit out of the game, but he still stayed seated. He didn’t want to leave yet. He had finally decided to tell Gavin he liked him and now he was being kicked out of the guy’s room. Gavin put his pad down and looked over at Michael.

 “So, I’ll see you again soon, yeah? We’ll play tomorrow or something?”

 “Yeah. Totally,” Michael said, trying not to sound too annoyed but it was pretty difficult. Michael stood up and turned away from Gavin, didn’t say another word before cutting the session. When he was alone in his pod he let out a frustrated grunt. _Maybe it wouldn’t have gone well anyway,_ he told himself. _Maybe you read the signs wrong and he doesn’t like you. Maybe you would’ve ruined the whole fucking thing if you’d told him._

 Michael stayed there in the darkness for a moment and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. _Just forget about the whole thing. Pretend today’s session never happened._ He was pretty sure Gavin would do the same. He could get through this. Though he was sure the next time he saw Gavin he’d think about how close he’d been to saying it out loud and get flustered. But he could do it. He could hide his feelings and just be friendly with Gavin.  

 At least, he hoped he could.


	13. Chapter 13

Michael had just settled into his bed after the long day. He’d spent most of it hanging out with the Achievement Hunters, minus Ryan who’d been called to the Floor, and he’d been able to keep his mind off Gavin, at least for a little while. But now he was settling in for the night and he didn’t have any more distractions. Michael sighed.

 He just wanted to know why Gavin had acted like that. Well, he had an assumption, but he wanted it confirmed. And what was even more frustrating is that Michael had been so fucking close to telling him. Michael looked over to where Ray was already sleeping, though they’d only gotten back to their dorm less than ten minutes ago. He wanted someone to talk to and he figured Ray was the best person.

 “Ray,” Michael whispered, but the other boy didn’t budge. Michael took a deep breath so he could call to him again, but his wrist buzzed, made his blood go cold in his veins. He looked down and read the red words calling him to the Floor before clicking the message away. Michael heaved a sigh and tried to dismiss the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach. _Why the hell are you so nervous?_ He asked himself. Gavin was the one who wanted to cut the session earlier. Gavin was the one who had been acting weird. He told himself he had no reason to feel anxious. It wasn’t like Gavin knew he liked him, unless he had his assumptions just like Michael had.

 Michael made the trek to the lift and down two floors to the Floor and sped past Gus, complying instantly for the first time because he just couldn’t stop imagining all the possible scenarios of his impending meeting with Gavin. He really hoped things would be normal. Maybe Gavin did suspect Michael liked him and that’s why he wanted to quit the session earlier. Maybe it made him uncomfortable. Michael really hoped that wasn’t the case because he didn’t want to lose Gavin. If his boi didn’t reciprocate his feelings, he really wanted to be able to remain friends. He enjoyed getting to cut loose with Gavin and not worry about what he said or did because he knew Gavin didn’t care. Gavin liked him for who he was, at least in a platonic way, and that was enough for Michael.

 As Michael lay in his pod and waited, he went over the scenarios and things he could say for each one, but every one of them disappeared once he saw Gavin. He’d been sitting on the couch but when he saw Michael appear he jumped to his feet. His hair was unkempt, though not in its usual “on purpose” sort of way. It looked like he’d been running his hands through it all day. Gavin was also buzzing with a nervous energy that seemed to radiate off him and rattle Michael’s bones, made him nervous as well. “Uh, what’s up, Gavin?” he asked, tried to stay normal but there was an obvious tension in the room.

 “Hi, Michael,” Gavin said, but he sounded distracted. Michael looked over at the screen on the wall, the only source of light in Gavin’s dark room, and bit his lip.

 “Did you wanna play?” he asked, felt like he should say _something_. Gavin shook his head.

 “I wanted to talk to you,” he said. Michael watched him for a moment and noted how Gavin seemed to refuse to look at him.

 “Uh, alright. Let me just put this on autopilot,” he mumbled and set up the game, had their characters roam around freely. He was definitely feeling anxious and worried about what Gavin had to say.

 “You wanna sit down?” Gavin asked. Michael hesitated for a moment.

 “Sure,” he said, nodded slowly as he moved and took his normal seat on the couch. Gavin remained standing, though. The boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Michael waited silently for Gavin to continue, but the boy just stayed standing and continued to not look at him.

 “You know,” Michael began a minute later, “in order to talk to someone, you kind of have to talk.” Gavin looked over at him then, almost like he’d forgotten Michael was even there, and shook his head slightly, like he was trying to clear his mind.

 “Right, yeah,” he muttered, but still remained unmoved. Michael was about to say something else but Gavin sat down on the couch next to him and looked over. His green eyes were large and bright in the harsh lighting and his brows were deeply furrowed. He looked to be contemplated something, and Michael just wanted him to speak, to say anything, because he himself was getting caught up in the boy’s bright eyes and couldn’t come up with any words. Gavin stared into his eyes a moment longer before he sighed and looked down at his hands. “It’s nothing, actually,” he said, sounded defeated. Michael blinked, the daze lifted and left him confused and slightly annoyed.

 “What?” he asked. Did Gavin really call him in, say he needed to talk to him, make a huge dramatic scene, build up the tension and shit, only say, “It’s nothing,” and have that be it? No. Michael wouldn’t accept that.

 “Sorry,” Gavin said. “I shouldn’t have called you in.” Yeah, Michael was definitely annoyed.

 “Yeah, but you did. So since I’m here why don’t you just tell me whatever you wanted to tell me?” Gavin shook his head.

 “It’s really not that big of a deal,” he began, but Michael cut him off.

 “If it wasn’t a big deal you wouldn’t have fucking called me,” Michael argued. Gavin bit his lip and his leg started bouncing, out of reflex or nerves Michael couldn’t tell.

 “It can wait for another time,” Gavin tried, but Michael wasn’t going to let him off the hook because if he did he knew Gavin would never tell him.

 “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Michael asked and Gavin finally looked up at him. “You always ask me shit and I always answer you, not matter what the hell it is, and you call me in here to say something and then fucking decide that you’re not even gonna say it? What the fuck, Gavin?” Gavin’s cheeks darkened a shade.

 “You didn’t have to answer any of my questions if you didn’t want to.”

 “I answered your questions because we’re friends, Gav. That’s what friends do. They talk to each other. Tell each other shit. Honestly, you’re the fucking chattiest person I know and suddenly you don’t want to talk?” Michael knew he was getting angry, but he couldn’t help it. Gavin was being so damn annoying and he didn’t feel like holding back. “Just fucking talk to me. Tell me whatever the fuck you have to say.”

 “Michael,” Gavin offered weakly, but Michael shook his head. He wasn’t going to let Gavin pout his way out of this.

 “No! Jesus Christ, Gavin, stop being such a fucking prick and talk to me!”

 “I can’t,” he said, starting to raise his voice as well and made Michael’s rage ignite further. Finally they were getting somewhere.

 “Why the hell not? Since when can’t you tell me shit?”

 “Because!” Gavin yelled, and he looked like he’d barely stopped himself from saying more. His eyes widened a fraction. _Just a little further, Gavin_ , Michael thought. All he had to do was push just a little further. Michael matched the other boy’s volume.

 “Because why? I don’t fucking care what it is just stop making such a huge fucking deal about it and tell me, dammit!” Gavin let out a short grunt before he grabbed Michael’s face and crushed their lips together.


	14. Chapter 14

Michael blinked, unable to do anything else because here it was, his first kiss. If you could even call it that. Gavin’s eyes were screwed shut and his lips were hard against Michaels, a product of desperation and anger and Michael didn’t have any time to react before Gavin pulled away and opened his eyes. He still had Michael’s face cupped in his hands before he seemed to realize what he’d just done and dropped his hands as if they’d been burned.

 “Oh God,” he muttered, his eyes widened as he stared at Michael. Michael, on the other hand, was in a stupor. He’d just had his first kiss, and it had been with Gavin. Gavin liked him back. Michael was incredulous. Gavin liked him back and it wasn’t him assuming anything because Gavin had kissed him. Michael felt like he was fucking floating. “I’m so sorry, Michael,” Gavin was babbling. “I shouldn’t have- bloody hell that was your first kiss. Goddam I’m such an idiot. I should’ve just told you. Why the hell didn’t I just tell you like a normal person? Why the hell did I- Michael I didn’t mean to-”

 “Gavin,” Michael said, finally able to find his voice. He was afraid Gavin would never stop apologizing and he didn’t want the boy to apologize at all. Sure, it wasn’t the ideal kiss, but it was something. It was Gavin showing Michael how he felt and he didn’t want Gavin to be sorry for that.

 “Michael, I’m so-”

 “Shut the hell up, Gavin,” Michael said sternly, wanting the other boy to listen and stop babbling, but he smiled afterward. He felt like he was riding a sort of high and he knew Gavin had given it to him. He also wanted Gavin to understand that the kiss had been okay.  

 “You…you’re not mad?” Michael shook his head.

 “I mean, you almost fucking broke my teeth with yours,” Michael began, but he looked Gavin in the eye and dropped his act a bit, unable to keep his tone from softening. “But I’m definitely not mad.” Gavin searched Michael’s face, most likely trying to find any trace of anger, but when he couldn’t find any he smiled slightly and let out a deep breath.

 “That’s a relief. I am sorry, though.”

 “Gavin, I fucking told you-”

 “I know you said you’re not mad, but I still feel like a pleb. That was your first kiss and I made it utter shite.”

 “No, Gav, you didn’t-”

 “Michael,” he said, gave him a pointed look.

 “Gavin.” Michael matched Gavin’s tone and stare. “It honestly wasn’t that bad,” he said, wondered why Gavin thought it was so fucking terrible. Was he regretting it? “You definitely surprised me, though,” he added. Gavin bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck.

 “Yeah, surprised myself as well.” Gavin’s leg started bouncing again. “Can we just pretend I didn’t do that?” _No. No we can’t fucking pretend that you didn’t just kiss me_ , Michael thought. _I don’t want to go back.  I don’t want to stay just friends when I know that you feel the same way as I do._

 “God dammit, Gavin, no. We’re not ignoring this.” Gavin looked like he was extremely uncomfortable, like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him. Michael rolled his eyes. Michael had to admit that he was slightly uncomfortable as well, and he didn’t want to have one of those damn conversations about defining their relationship, but he wanted Gavin to know he liked him as well. Michael sighed. He didn’t want to just come out say it, because even the thought of it made him feel awkward. It wasn’t the type of person he was, and maybe that’s the real reason he hadn’t done it their previous session. However, that left him with limited options.

 Michael thought about different things he could do, but he decided there was a way he could tell Gavin how he felt, while also erasing the awkwardness he knew Gavin was feeling about their kiss. “For fuck’s sake,” he muttered before he began to lean in. Gavin had looked over at him when he’d spoken and his eyes widened slightly when he saw what Michael was doing. Michael paused and bit his lip, not quite sure what to do other than the obvious, and Gavin’s tongue darted out to wet his lips slightly before he leaned in the rest of the way and pressed their lips together again.

 It was gentler this time, much gentler, and Michael slid his eyes closed. It felt a little weird but at the same time the feeling of Gavin’s lips pressed against his own made him feel warm. Michael reciprocated Gavin’s pressure and he reached a hand up to cup Gavin’s cheek. It didn’t last long, but when Gavin pulled away slightly and rested his forehead on Michael’s he was sure his chest was about to explode. If their first kiss made him feel like he was floating, Michael was pretty sure this one sent him straight to the fucking moon.

 Gavin let out a soft sigh and when Michael opened his eyes Gavin was smiling softly. Michael pulled back a bit more so he could look at Gavin properly and Gavin opened his eyes to look at him as well. They stayed like that for a moment, just stared at each other like they were seeing each other in a new light. After a while, though, Gavin seemed to be lost in thought. Michael opened his mouth to ask him what he was thinking about when Gavin spoke. “That friend you said you like…it’s me, innit?” Michael raised a brow and forced himself not to roll his eyes.

 “No shit, Gavin.” Gavin broke out in a goofy grin and laughed.

 “Just making sure.”

 “You’re a fucking moron,” Michael said and he bit his cheek to keep himself from smiling at Gavin’s squeaky laugh. The two decided after that to play for a little bit before ending the session, though they both agreed they’d play again in the morning.

 “How’s Gavin doing?” Ray murmured when Michael came back into the dormitory. Michael was sure he was grinning like an asshole and he hoped Ray couldn’t see it in the darkness. Michael kicked off his shoes and put his glasses down on his table, but instead of lying in his own bed he flopped down onto Ray’s. Michael sighed, thoughts of Gavin filled his thoughts and he felt like the stereotypical girl leaning against the front door dreamily after her first date.

 Michael saw a flash of blue and raised his arm to click open the message he had. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: GOODNIGHT MY LOVELY LITTLE MICHAEL. RESPOND? Michael quickly typed out a reply and hit send. SWEET DREAMS GAVY. “Did you-?” Ray began, but he trailed off. “You did.” Michael was sure Ray had read the messages just then and assumed the boy knew _something_ had happened in their session.

 “Actually he did,” Michael said, thoughts of Gavin kissing him flooded his mind, and though his eyes weren’t yet adjusted to the darkness he knew Ray was surprised.

 “Seriously? That’s fucking great. So are you two like dating now or?” Michael shrugged.

 “I mean, we didn’t really talk about it. I don’t think we need to, either. We both obviously like each other, so that’s just what it is. I don’t think we need to label it or anything, especially not right now.” Michael felt Ray nod beside him.

 “But definitely more than friends?”

 “Oh yeah,” Michael said. “Absolutely.”

 “I’m happy for you,” Ray said and Michael could tell he really was. He was glad he had someone like Ray to talk to about everything. “I know you’ll be careful,” he began after a moment, “like with keeping this a secret, but be careful with him too, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt.” Michael wanted to scoff and make some kind of sarcastic comment, but he could tell that Ray was being sincere and wanted to look out for him in the little way he could, so instead he nodded.

 “Yeah, I will,” he promised quietly. Ray nodded as well.

 “Good. Now get the fuck out of my bed.” That was more like Ray. Michael shoved the boy’s arm and heaved himself up.

 “Good night, asshole,” he said as he climbed into his own bed. He heard Ray mutter something back but it was unintelligible so he shrugged it off and pulled the overs up around his neck. Michael hoped that he’d be able to fall asleep quickly so he’d be closer to seeing Gavin again, but he saw the boy every time he closed his eyes, making sleep nearly impossible. Michael decided that he didn’t mind, though. For once he was completely okay with not sleeping because he could still feel the ghost warmth of Gavin’s lips against his and the soft prickle of stubble on his palm as he’d touched Gavin’s cheek.  


	15. Chapter 15

“Ryan! Stop fucking shooting me!” Michael cried as his friend shot him twice.

 “Well, you’re in the way! I’m _trying_ to shoot the police.” Michael rolled his eyes and ran away from the scene. He was in the Creation Room with the rest of the Achievement Hunters and they were all playing _Los Santos_. They had a plan to rob a few stores, but so far they’d all died about five times each and they silently decided to give up and to just dick around instead. Ray let out a cry and a moment later Interface announced he’d blown up.

 “What happened, Ray?” Michael asked as he tossed sticky bombs onto the car that Ryan had just climbed into. He stifled his laughter as the man drove off without noticing.

 “I fucking grenade myself,” Ray mumbled.

 “Ray, don’t do that; you’ll die!” At that moment Jack drove past Michael and nearly ran him over. “Jesus Christ, Jack! You almost ran me-” Michael cut off with a yell as he was plowed into the asphalt. “Geoff you mingy prick,” he spat as he watched Geoff drive off before everything went white. The next moment he was back to full health and standing on the sidewalk across the street from his pool of blood. Geoff laughed as he drove off, but then let out a huge cry as well.

 “What the hell happened?” Ryan asked as Interface announced his and Geoff’s death. Michael laughed as he remembered his sticky bombs. They must’ve gone off when Michael died.

 “Did I get you both?” Michael asked cheerfully. “Fuck you, Geoff!”

 “God dammit,” Geoff said.

 “Can you ride this Ferris Wheel?” Ray asked.

 “You at the Pier?” Jack asked and the rest of the guys agreed to meet him there. Michael had arrived first, sped up on a motorcycle and nearly crashed into a hotdog stand. He got off and ran over to Ray who had his gun out and was chasing after a random man.

 “Get back here, you fucking shoobie,” he said before shooting the guy down. Michael laughed but a moment later a sports car came speeding down the pier and ran right into him and Ray, caused their bodies to soar. “UHP!” Ray cried while Michael made choking noises.

 “Out of my way, assholes,” Geoff said as he parked where Michael and Ray had previously been and ran out of the car toward the end of the pier. “We should get a boat.”

 “I’ll get a boat, Geoff,” Michael said, though he honestly had no clue how to do that.

 “Alright, Michael, you’re on boat duty.” Michael ran to the side of the pier and looked down at the water below. He didn’t see any boats but there were four jetskis bobbing around a short deck. Michael grinned as he dove off the pier and resurfaced a moment later a few feet from the nearest jetski. He climbed on and started driving in a direction he hoped he’d find a boat in.

 “Surprise, motherfucker!” Jack said.

 “Good lord!” Geoff cried and Michael looked behind him to see if he could see what had happened. He saw a plane on fire nose dive into the ocean.

 “Did you just suicide bomb the fucking pier, Jack?” Michael asked as he continued on to find a boat. _Someone_ had to be out in a boat, right?

 “I parachuted out of the plane and as it was going down the wing clipped Geoff’s arm,” Jack said between fits of laughter.

 “That was fucking terrifying,” Geoff said in a rush, caused the rest of the men to laugh. “I just wanted to buy an ice cream cone and the next second a huge plane is right in fucking front of me.” Michael laughed along with the others, his head thrown back and his eyes screwed shut.

 “Oh man, I wish I could’ve seen Geoff’s face,” Michael muttered as he lowered his head, but when he opened his eyes he let out another yell. He hadn’t been watching where he’d been driving and ended up in a rocky area, soared over one of them like a ramp. To his surprise, he landed on the other side in the back of a boat as a random person was sailing by. “Holy shit that was fucking incredible!” Michael cried. He could hear the rest of the guys, especially Geoff, asking what had happened. “I fucking flew off a rock and landed in the back of a boat!”

 “What are you riding on?”

 “A jetski. There’s a couple off the side of the pier where you guys are,” Michael informed them.

 “Alright, new plan, everyone go to Michael,” Geoff said. Michael laughed to himself, still unable to believe he’d landed in a boat. The driver seemed to notice Michael then and, to avoid any complications, Michael took out his gun and shot the man, who narrowly missed the bullet when he abandoned ship and started swimming away. Michael thought about shooting him but shrugged it off. “That was fucking top,” Michael said and got off his jetski. He went into the driver’s seat so he could reposition the boat for the others.

 “Top, huh?” Ray asked. If he were near him Michael would’ve glared at him. The five men spent the next half hour driving into the back of the boat. After a while, though, they started getting bored and pulled their weapons on each other. It wasn’t very surprising that Ryan was the last one alive in the boat.

 “Does this mean I win?” he asked. Michael shook his head at his friend as he looked around at his new surroundings. He’d been spawned back in the middle of the city and Ray wasn’t too far away from him so he stole a car along the side of the street and drove up in front of Ray.

 “Hey, baby, need a lift?” he asked.

 “Hell yeah. I’ll pay you in blow jobs,” he said as he climbed into the passenger seat. Michael laughed. “God dammit,” Ray muttered and Michael looked over to see Ray click away a message on his wristband. Michael sighed.

 “Session time?”

 “Session time.”

 XXX

 “You guys didn’t have to stop playing just cause I have to leave,” Ray said as they made their way to the lift. After Ray announced that he’d been buzzed the rest of the guys had decided to quit the game as well and head down to the Reef for some food. Geoff shrugged.

 “Ryan’s probably going to have a session soon, too, since his Gamer has a fucking scheduled time and shit for gaming. And I’m still waiting for Michael to get called in because he hasn’t played with his boyfriend in over twenty-four hours.” Michael could feel his cheeks grow hot and remembered that the other Achievement Hunters didn’t know that he’d been meeting with Gavin at night lately. He could feel Ray giving him a look but he ignored the boy and looked over at Geoff.

 “Geoff, please. I’m here now, isn’t that enough for you?” he asked, sounded like a neglectful husband.

 “I wish it were, Michael. I wish it were.”

 “Hey, are things still going good with you and Gavin?” Jack asked and Michael nodded. He knew if he wasn’t already blushing from the previous comment he definitely would be now.

 “Yeah, things are going pretty great,” he said, trying to keep his voice as nonchalant as possible. He wasn’t sure how much he succeeded, though.

 “I still can’t fucking believe _you_ are friends with a Gamer,” Geoff said. Michael scoffed at him playfully.

 “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he asked, though he knew what Geoff meant. He wasn’t exactly the warmest person, especially when it came to Gamers.

 “That Mr. Rage Quit is terrible at making friends.”

 “Yeah, does he know how you really are? Or are you completely professional with him?” Ryan asked and Geoff laughed.

 “I’m pretty fucking sure Michael’s holding back. There’s no way this kid’s been playing around with Vinny for the past few weeks.” Michael rolled his eyes at the nickname. His middle name was Vincent so “Vinny” was the name his friends gave him when he started getting _really_ angry, since his faint Jersey accent became more prominent the more he yelled.

 “Actually, Geoff, you’re wrong. He honestly doesn’t give a shit,” Michael said with a shrug.

 “Really?” Ryan asked. The group reached the lift and climbed inside.

 “Ray Narvaez Jr,” Interface began when it registered who had stepped inside, “You have been requested by the Commander to report to the Floor Room. I will take you there now.”

 “Yeah, really,” Michael said, continuing their conversation. “I can say whatever the fuck I want and he just laughs.” The doors opened back up and Michael could see the hallway before them with Gus standing at the end of it.

 “I’ll see you guys in a few,” Ray said and the others all said their goodbyes before he stepped out of the lift and the doors closed once more.

 “Fourth floor, Interface,” Geoff said. “The guy sounds like an idiot, by the way.” Michael snickered.

 “Oh, he’s a complete dumbass,” he said, but he couldn’t help the slight affection in his voice. The doors opened and the men all exited the lift before heading down the hall and back into the main corridor.

 “In all honesty, I’m kind of jealous,” said Jack. “I _wish_ I got along with my Gamer.”

 “Yeah, you’re pretty fucking lucky,” Geoff said. Michael smiled. He was definitely aware of how lucky he was. He wished he could tell the guys about everything, but he knew it was too risky. Not that they would say anything, he wasn’t worried about that. It was the fact that even just Ray knowing put him slightly on edge. As if merely thinking about the subject could alert RT and more than one person thinking it would send out a red flag. He knew he was just being paranoid, but he honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if they were able to tell what people on the ship were thinking. Anyway, Michael couldn’t help but blush at the mere mention of Gavin. He might as well have the words “I’M DATING MY GAMER” tattooed across his forehead.  It was best if he kept it to himself. Besides, he was already taking a risk by telling them about their friendship.

 Michael was usually a pretty private person but he couldn’t help wanting to tell everyone about his relationship. It was all so new to him. Not just his relationship with Gavin, but a relationship in general. Only twelve hours ago he’d had his first kiss. For the first time in his life someone liked Michael and wanted to be with him and Michael couldn’t have been happier. He just wished he didn’t have to hide it. Being with Gavin was one thing Michael knew he wouldn’t mind sharing.

 The four men walked into the Reef, looked around, and noticed it was fairly empty.  Well, as empty as a one-hundred-yard-long room can appear. There were at least eighty people scattered about, but it was still fairly early in the afternoon and more people didn’t grab dinner until around six or so. “You know what?” Geoff said, breaking the silence. “I changed my mind. Anyone wanna join me for a drink?” At that moment both Ryan and Jack’s arms buzzed. They both looked at their bands and Michael caught a glimpse of red from both of them. Michael smirked at their crestfallen faces. “Michael,” Geoff said brightly as he turned to the boy. “Want to go get drunk on wine coolers?”

 “Hell yeah, Geoff,” he said with grin. “See you bozos later.”


	16. Chapter 16

Michael was ripped out of sleep when he felt his arm being shaken forcefully. He sat up quickly in his bed, completely startled until he remembered that it was just his wristband. He sighed as he clicked the buttons on the middle bar and let his arm fall limply in his lap. Michael blinked slowly in the darkness of the dorm, still half sleep, until he remembered that he was being called into a session. With Gavin. He’d never woken up so fast in his life.

 The boy jumped out of bed and slipped on his shoes as he shoved his glasses onto his face before racing out of the room and toward the lift. Once he was lying down in his pod he was practically buzzing with excitement.

 Michael’s eyes immediately flitted to where Gavin was seated on the couch and the boy smiled shyly at him, a soft blush graced his cheeks. “Hi, Michael,” Gavin said and Michael smiled back as he made his way to the spot beside him.

 “Hey, boi.” If Michael was being honest, he wasn’t quite sure if their session would be awkward or not. He didn’t really know how he was supposed to act now that he and Gavin were on some new relationship tier. Was he supposed to hold hands with the guy? Give him a “hello” kiss? Michael bit his lip and decided to direct his attention to his pad and start up the game, but he was hyper aware of Gavin sitting beside him and watching him.

 As he pulled up their save data and began to spawn their characters, Michael saw Gavin move out of the corner of his eye and felt his fingers softly touch Michael’s curls, caught him slightly off guard. Gavin hummed softly. “You’re right, it is brown,” he said and Michael looked over to the boy beside him. “Sorry I called you a ginger bitch when you are, in fact, a brunette bitch,” Gavin said, a cheeky grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Michael rolled his eyes and swatted the boy’s hand away as he tried his damnedest to hide his own smile.

 “I forgive you, you blonde fuck.” Gavin let out a short laugh before grabbing his own pad and moving his character. The boys walked back through the forest and made their way back to the Time Wizard’s cave.

 “Hey, Michael,” Gavin began as they grabbed their torches. “What kind of blonde am I?”

 “I don’t know,” Michael said, wondering where the hell Gavin was going with this. “A dumb one?” Gavin scoffed at him and Michael sighed. “I don’t _know_ , Gav. What kind of blonde are you?” he asked, his tone growing slightly annoyed. How the hell did Gavin expect him to know what he was going to say?

 It was quiet for a moment before Gavin whispered, “Dirty,” in a sensual voice. It took every ounce of will power Michael had not to roll his eyes back into his skull at the boy’s ridiculousness. It also took a lot of will power to fight back the voice in his head that thought he sounded hot as fuck. Michael glared over at Gavin who immediately broke into a fit of squeals.

 “You’re an idiot,” Michael said as he turned his attention back to the screen, but now he was smiling.

 “You love it.”

 “Yeah, guess that means I’m an idiot, too.”

 XXX

 The boys had successfully gotten their potion from the Wizard and were making their way back into the main area of the kingdom. “Do we finally get to break into the castle now?” Gavin asked excitedly.

 “Yeah,” Michael confirmed softly. He bit his lip as he thought about the rest of the game. Once they got to the castle they had to steal a few items and then break into the dungeon where they’d use another portal and visit The End, a world where they’d have to fight a dragon. Once the dragon was dead, though, the game would be over. Which meant his time with Gavin would be over. He knew that they had to keep progressing through the game but it was hard to think about when he knew that the closer they got to the castle the closer they were to their sessions ending for good.

 Michael fleetingly wondered if he should tell Gavin how close they were to finishing the game but he couldn’t bring himself to do it when the boy looked so happy and eager. He decided there wouldn’t be any harm in waiting a little longer. Besides, they should be enjoying the time they have left together. If he told Gavin it’d be ending soon it could make the rest of their gaming uncomfortable and depressing. Michael didn’t want that. He wanted to joke around with his boi and have fun.

 “Awesome,” Gavin said. “Do we get to kill the King or something?” Michael immediately fell back into the present and ignored any lingering thoughts of having to part ways with his Gamer.

 “I mean, do you really think you’d be able to?” Michael asked with a smirk. Gavin wasn’t necessarily terrible at combat in the game, but he was pretty sure killing the King would be impossible.

 “I took out a bloody ten-foot furry beast. I’m pretty sure a pansy-arse king would be no problem.” Michael rolled his eyes and, upon seeing that, Gavin decided to elaborate. “Okay, a king has an army and a bunch of guards, yeah? They’re the knights and the blokes who are good at fighting and stuff so the King doesn’t have to get his hands dirty. He’s probably a pudgy little bastard who can’t even lift his arms above his head.”

 “Alright,” Michael said, grinning along at the boy’s explanation. “So what are you going to do, slip some poison into his wine? King’s gotta be drinking a shit ton of wine, right? Like that’s all he does. Drink wine and eat huge fucking turkey legs while an abundance of whores jerk him off.” Gavin laughed.

 “Well, I’m not going to poison him. Haven’t you seen old movies and TV shows? Poison’s the bitch killer.”

 “Okay then tell me, Mr. Free, how would you go about killing the King of Cloudberry?”

 “I’m glad you asked, Michael,” he said as he sat up a little taller in his seat. “First I’d take the potion we just got from the Wizard and turn invisible. Then I’d sneak into the castle and infiltrate his army. Probably kill the top knight and hide in his armor or something. I’d wait for the King to go to bed, probably sleep with some whores while I wait-”

 “Of course,” Michael interjected, grinned as he listened to Gavin’s master plan.

 “-and then I’d sneak into his bedroom after he’s asleep and do him in.”

 “With what?” Michael asked.

 “I’m not finished, you donut,” Gavin said. Michael put his hands up in a defensive gesture and Gavin smiled at him before continuing.

 “Well, I’d have to make sure he’s gagged or something and then I’d probably use this dagger,” he said as he pulled the dagger Michael had given him a while ago out of its tiny sheath on his belt. “Then, and this is important, you’ll be waiting for me outside the King’s bedroom window on a horse. After I kill the King I’m going to jump out and land hero-style onto the back of the horse where I get a victory kiss from you and we ride off into the sunset. Or, in this case, the moon light.” Michael stared at Gavin for a few moments after the boy finished speaking. He had to admit he looked very cute when planning a somewhat-elaborate murder.

 “Alright,” Michael said finally. Gavin blinked at him.

 “Alright?”

 “Alright. Let’s do it. Let’s kill the King.”

 “Are you serious?” he asked hesitantly.

 “Hell yeah, boi. You go try and kill the King, I’ll be outside with the getaway horse.” Gavin let out a squeaky laugh.

 “Really? It’s not part of the game though, right?”

 “Nah, but who gives a shit? If it works than that’ll be fucking top and if it doesn’t than I’ll just reboot the game back to where we are now and we’ll continue on with the normal quest.” Michael had to admit that he was excited. He doubted that Gavin would actually pull it off, but it would be a fun way to do something with his boi that would also prolong their game play, at least by a little bit.

 It took a little while to find a horse, they had to go back out to the farmlands, but once they did they made quick work of getting closer to the castle. “Okay, we should probably take the potion now because if any guards in town see our faces they’re supposed to immediately attack us,” Michael said as he pulled a small jug out of his pouch. He handed it over to Gavin who stared at the electric blue contents curiously.

 “How the hell did all those items turn blue?” he asked.

 “Oh, my god, just drink it,” Michael groaned. Gavin laughed a little before tipping the back the jar and swallowing some of its contents. He handed it back to Michael who finished off the last of the potion before pocketing the jug. Michael watched as Gavin disappeared from sight, though he knew the boy was still sitting behind him on the horse.

 “How long does it take to w- bloody hell, Michael! You’re invisible!” Michael rolled his eyes. “Did it not work on me?”

 “You’re invisible, too, you just can’t see it.”

 “Why not?”

 “If you couldn’t see yourself how could you play the fucking game?”

 “How do I know the potion worked if I can still see myself?”

 “I can rewrite this shit so you _can’t_ see yourself,” Michael warned. He knew that Gavin was just arguing for argument’s sake.

 “No, no,” he said passive-aggressively. “I’ll trust that it’s working,” he said. Michael shook his head softly and led their horse toward the castle gates. “Alright, remember to wait under the King’s bedroom window.” Gavin slipped off the horse and stood beside it. Michael nodded.

 “Good luck, Gavin.” The boy made his character jump up and when his face was, Michael imagined, close to Michael’s he made a kissing noise.

 “I’ll see you on the other side, Michael.” Michael looked over to see Gavin grinning as he made his character head inside the castle and smiled to himself. Sure, Gavin was silly and could be an idiot sometimes, but that’s what Michael liked about him. Gavin didn’t take himself seriously and Michael had to admit it was kind of cute. Okay, a lot cute.

 Gavin seemed to feel Michael’s eyes on him because he looked over with a raised brow. Michael immediately looked away and back toward the screen, but Gavin wasn’t moving anymore and he could still see him watching so he looked back over at the boy. They stared at each other for a moment and Michael could feel his pace quicken as he looked into Gavin’s bright green eyes. Gavin smiled at him softly before slowly turning his attention back to the screen and moving again.

 Michael looked away as well and led the horse over to where the King’s room was. When he looked up toward his bedroom he smirked. It was a few stories up and he knew there was no way Gavin could survive the drop, if he even made it that far into the plan. Michael was pretty sure he’d die way before then.

 He decided to switch to see Gavin’s point of view and watch the plan unfold as he waited. Gavin was currently making his way through the courtyard and in the front doors, trying his hardest not to bump into the plethora of people littered about the castle grounds. Luckily he made it through easily enough and soon found himself sneaking through the castle halls.

 The first time Gavin saw a guard he inhaled sharply and started following him around the floor. Once the man turned a corner, and there was no one else there, Gavin ran up and stabbed the guard in the neck, successfully killing the man. “What happened to only killing the top knight?”

 “I got nervous,” he said quietly, as if someone in the game would be able to hear him.

 “Well now you’re going to have to hide the body somewhere,” he said with amusement clear in his voice.

 “Dammit, you’re right,” he muttered. Gavin looked around curiously until he saw a door a little further down the hall. He made his way over to it and opened it slowly before peering inside. It seemed to be some sort of closet, filled with spare bedding and such. “That’ll do.”

 Gavin ran back over to the fallen guard and bent down to slip his arms under shoulders and heave him up, but it was obvious his character was having some trouble with it. “Heavy bastard,” he said through clenched teeth. Michael considered increasing the muscle on Gavin’s character but decided it was way more entertaining to watch the boy struggle with it.

 The Brit began to drag the lifeless body down the hall and toward the closet, roughly tugging him by his forearms since he hadn’t been able to carry him by his chest. He let the body fall once he reached the door and opened it back up before grabbing his arms again and struggling to get him inside the small room. He was halfway inside when Michael saw movement at the end of the hall. He held in his laughter when he noticed someone turning the corner, another guard.

 Gavin caught on a moment later and froze. “He won’t be able to see me, yeah?”

 “No, but I’m pretty sure he’ll notice the dead body.” Gavin seemed to hold his breath as the new guard moved closer, obviously noticed the legs sticking out of the door. The guard came up and started inspecting the body and Gavin let out a squeal as he dropped the lifeless arms and stabbed the new guard. “Gavin Free: Master Assassin,” Michael said dramatically. His Gamer sighed as he looked down at the now two dead bodies. “You might want to start hauling ass before another guard comes by,” Michael advised and Gavin quickly moved around the two and started shoving them inside the closet.

 Once he had the door closed behind him and the two guards safely inside he let out another sigh. “Alright. Time to find the main knight and steal his armor,” Gavin said. Michael switched back over to his own view to make sure he and the horse were still in the same place when he noticed that the sun was going down.

 “It’s almost night time, boi,” he said as he went back to Gavin’s view.

 “Bloody hell, I’ve got to haul crev.” Gavin made his way up some stairs and Michael guided him to where the King’s bedroom was. The boy froze though when he saw a man standing guard outside the door. “Is there another closet nearby?” he asked, mainly to himself.

 “How are you going to check inside a door without the guy seeing you open it?” Michael pointed out.

 “Can’t you just-”

 “No,” Michael said. He just wanted to sit back and watch Gavin do it. He had to admit, the boy was lasting longer than he’d expected.

 “Michael,” he whined, but Michael just shook his head.

 “What the hell happened to, ‘I can kill the king no problem,’” he said as he mocked Gavin’s accent in a high-pitched voice. Gavin scrunched up his nose at Michael’s terrible impression but laughed a little.

 “Fine. Screw you, Michael.” Gavin marches over to the guard and stands a few feet in front of him. “Can I talk to him?” Michael eyes him curiously and wonders what he plans on doing.

 “Yeah. Hold down with your pointer and middle fingers in the top right corner.” Gavin does as he’s instructed on his pad before speaking and clears his throat.

 “Who’s there?” the guard calls out and Gavin freezes. He looks over at Michael who starts laughing loudly. “Show yourself!” the guard yells, making quite the racket and Gavin’s fingers fly off the pad.

 “You fucking mong!” Michael cried, still laughing. “You idiot you’re fucking invisible!” Gavin squeaked as he grinned widely, his eyes wide.

 “I forgot,” he choked out, making Michael laugh harder.

 “I know you’re there,” the guard continued and began to unsheathe his sword. Gavin jumped back away from the man and seemed to break from his shocked stupor. He pulled out the dagger and stabbed the man, dashing away as he began to swing his sword wildly. The guard started yelling louder and Michael knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of the King’s army came running over. He bit his lip and slyly opened up the coding and rewrote a few things so no one would come.

 Once he was finished he looked over at Gavin to see the boy still trying to kill the guard, looking more nervous and stressed with each passing moment. Michael stayed silent, though. He didn’t want Gavin to know he’d helped him. He knew that Gavin wanted to kill the King and he’d be so fucking proud of himself if he actually did it. Finally, the guard fell and Gavin let out a sigh of relief before looking around.

 “Is anyone else coming?”

 “I don’t hear or see anything,” Michael said.

 “Do you think the King’s inside?” Michael shrugged.

 “Probably.”

 “Alright, then. Now or never.” Gavin opened the door, swiftly but quietly, and Michael saw the King lying in bed asleep, the only light coming from the dim twilight sky outside a large window. “This is it, boi,” Gavin said as he crept closer to the large four-post bed. There was a canopy that fell around the sides of the bed but they were sheer enough that Michael could a lump on the bed snoring loudly. As he made his way to the side of the bed and pulled back the curtain, Gavin slowly raised his dagger. “Tease it,” he muttered a few times, poised his hand to strike.

 The King suddenly shot up in bed, his eyes wide and he was coughing, seemed to be choking. Gavin let out a loud cry when the man’s face appeared before his own and he jumped back away from the bed. The King looked around the room, fear clear in his eyes as his face turned red and his eyes seemed to bug out of his skull. “What the hell?” Gavin cried.

 “Someone poisoned the king!” Michael yelled, just as surprised as his Gamer. Was that how the game usually was? Michael knew that guards were usually patrolling the castle when you entered it and they were on “high alert,” but he never knew it was because the King had been murdered. “Jesus Christ,” he said, unable to believe the events unfolding.

 The king clutched at his chest and when he pulled back his hand there was blood covering his palm. Michael looked at the dagger in Gavin’s hand and noticed it dripping with blood. “Dude! I think when the King sat up he fucking ran into your blade,” Michael said. This was probably the greatest thing he’d ever seen in a play through of ‘Enchantment Level 30.’

 “What?” Gavin squeaked, obviously just as bewildered and amazed as Michael. The King fell back against his pillows and twitched a few times before remaining still and silent. “ _What?!_ ”

 “You did it, Gavin!” Michael cried. “You killed the bastard, pansy-ass King of Cloudberry!” Michael laughed as he looked over at Gavin’s shocked face.

 “Did that seriously just happen?” he asked as he looked over at Michael, his lips tugged up in a tiny smile.

 “Yup! You might want to leave the crime scene before the guards come and fuck you up.” Gavin stared at Michael for a moment longer before breaking into a wide grin and running to the window. Michael switched back to his normal view and moved his horse so it was in a better position for Gavin.

 “Alright, boi, here I come,” Gavin said before leaping out of the window. Just as Michael predicted, he didn’t make it. Instead of landing on the horse “hero-style” Gavin slammed into the grass beside him and died. Michael instantly started laughing.

 “ _You’re having a laugh_!” Gavin cried, only made Michael laugh harder. “How?!”

 “My fucking hero,” Michael said before he looked over at Gavin’s confused face.

 “What the bloody hell just happened?!”

 “Congratulations, Gavin Free,” Michael said, imitated the voice of an announcer, “you just killed the King and immediately committed suicide.” Gavin just continued to stare at him, still trying to comprehend what the fuck just happened. Michael laughed at the confusion on his face. “Come here,” he said finally and Gavin blinked at him. “Fucking come here, Gavin.”

 It was clear Gavin was still lost but he scooted closer to Michael on the couch. Michael placed a hand on the boy’s cheek and leaned in, closed the gap between them till their lips were pressed together. Gavin was still for a moment before he kissed back and Michael wondered briefly if he’d only imagined their confessions the previous night. But Gavin kissed him easily and placed a hand on Michael’s waist. Michael felt like his head was spinning and he couldn’t help but smile when Gavin deepened the kiss.

 Michael didn’t know how long they stayed like that, just losing themselves in each other, but eventually he heard the ping in his head that announced their session was at an end. He breathlessly pulled away from Gavin, who in turn let out a whine of disapproval. “Time’s up,” he muttered, still tried to catch his breath. He pulled back enough so he could see Gavin’s face and shifted slightly in his seat when he took in the swollen lips and blown pupils. Michael was pretty sure he’d never seen anything sexier.

 Gavin looked at him with a sort of dazed passion and leaned in to kiss him again. Michael closed his eyes and kissed him back, ignoring the sounds in his head momentarily before they started to grow louder. He pushed Gavin back again gently and Gavin let out a hard sigh. “Alright, fine,” he said breathlessly and Michael smiled at him.

 “You’re going to call me in again today, right?”

 “A soon as you leave I’m calling you back in.” Michael leaned over and kissed him again briefly before kissing his cheek. _If only_ , he thought. He wished that were allowed, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before he would be back in Gavin’s room. He just wished he didn’t have to wait a few hours first.

 “Then I’ll see you soon,” he said. Gavin grinned and pulled back a little, gave Michael a bit of room so he could save and quit the game.

 “See you soon, my lovely little Michael.”

 When Michael was laying in the darkness of his pod he tried his damnedest to catch his breath. Even though it hadn’t been his actual body in there he could feel Gavin’s hands on his waist and chest, feel the boy’s lips on his, taste his tongue. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind but all he could see was Gavin, Gavin, Gavin. His dilated pupils. His pink lips. His messy hair as Michael tangled his fingers through it. Gavin’s hot breath mingling with his own. The soft noises he made when Michael sucked on his bottom lip or molded his tongue with Gavin’s.

 Michael let out a weak groan as he opened his eyes. _Okay this is definitely not helping_ , he thought. He knew he was hard, could feel the heat pooling in his belly and the sweat growing on his brow. _How the hell am I supposed to fucking walk out of here like this?_ Michael took a deep breath. _Okay, Michael, think of something gross. The biggest fucking boner killer you can think of_. He spent the next few moments producing every disturbing image he could think of, his mom dying and Jack in lingerie being among them.

 Finally, he felt cooled down enough that he pushed open the door of the pod and sat up before making his way out of the Floor Room and straight to the showers where he could fix himself properly.


	17. Chapter 17

“So,” Gavin began. He sounded a little nervous and Michael looked away from the screen to give him his full attention. They were currently back in the outskirts of town, dicking around instead of progressing through the game. Michael definitely did _not_ challenge Gavin to a dumb version of hide-and-seek to keep them from completing the game. He also didn’t immediately start thinking of other ways he could prolong the inevitable as soon as Gavin had excitedly accepted his challenge. “I wanted to talk to you about something,” he continued, but he wouldn’t look at Michael.

 “Is everything okay?” Michael asked. Gavin’s hesitance made him uncomfortable and he wanted Gavin to just spit it out rather than beat around the bush like he was.

 “Yeah, everything’s alright,” he said and Michael stared at him expectantly. Gavin finally looked over at him and sighed. “I, uh, had some visitors yesterday.” Michael watched him and waited for him to continue but he didn’t say anything else. Was that supposed to mean something to Michael?

 “Okay?” Michael drew out the word. “Do you want to be a little more fucking specific? Was it someone you know?” He didn’t know what kind of game the boy was playing. Gavin bit his lip.

 “No, but you might.” Okay now he was even more lost than before. “Ellis and Heyman?” Michael recognized the names instantly; Adam Ellis and Joel Heyman both worked for Responsive Technology. In the recruiting department. Michael had never met Adam, but Joel had been one of the members who’d come to Michael’s house those few years ago.

 “You…RT wants to bring you on?” Michael could tell Gavin was studying his reactions very closely so he tried to remain impartial to the idea. On the one hand, Gavin would probably be a great AI, if not too conversational and friendly. He could see Gavin doing pretty well, though. They could use more people who are so easy going. Plus, if he did join the program, they wouldn’t have to hide anything. They could be together without having to worry about any complications outside the norm.

 On the other hand, he didn’t want Gavin to join RT. In his mind the program had taken away his chance at living a normal life and he didn’t want that to happen to Gavin as well. He knew there were people who were happy about joining, like Ray, but he also knew Gavin well enough to know that the boy would miss things just as he did. Little things like walking along the sidewalk, see birds flying overhead, taking a leisurely car ride.

 “What did you tell them?” Michael asked.

 “Well, they didn’t ask me if I wanted to join,” he trailed off.

 “But you know that’s going to come soon enough. Are you thinking of doing it?” Gavin let out a loud sigh and threw his head back against the cushion.

 “I don’t know. Do you think I should?”

 “Do you want to?” Michael asked. He ignored Gavin’s question because he knew Gavin was looking for him to give him a certain answer, but Michael wanted Gavin to do whatever he wanted to do. He didn’t want the boy to make such a huge life decision based on what Michael thought. He knew the answer he’d give him, though. It started with an “n” and ended in an “o.”

 “I don’t know,” he groaned. “It sounds like it’d be easier, though. No school. I get to play videogames all day. Get paid pretty nicely.” Michael remembered thinking all those were perks as well before he’d joined.

 In all honesty, they were still perks, but he felt differently about them now. He’d stopped going to school before he’d even had a chance to really hate it, so all he really missed out on was learning new things, which Michael actually enjoyed. Sure, he didn’t think he’d like it as much in a stressful environment like the American Public School System, but still.

 The videogames were still great, but it was a lot more annoying and infuriating when you were being forced to play at certain times and with certain people. For Michael the whole “playing videogames all day” perk was the most disappointing. He had to play specific games with people he didn’t know, who were usually assholes to him, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Not exactly a walk in the park, especially for Mr. Rage Quit.

 As for the money, that was probably the perk he was most thankful for. When Michael was growing up his family wasn’t the wealthiest. More accurately, his father walked out on them when he was three and his mom struggled to give Michael and his brother a good childhood. When he’d found out he’d be getting paid to join the Program he asked RT if they could set up some sort of plan so his family would get a certain amount every month. Michael’s mom had told him a few months later that she’d been able to quit her second job because of it.

 “Plus there’s you,” Gavin continued, breaking Michael’s train of thought.

 “No,” Michael said seriously and Gavin raised his brows. “I don’t want you including me in this. If you want to join the program, you should. But don’t consider me an incentive to do so.” Gavin furrowed his brows and sat up again, turned slightly toward Michael as he stared over at him.

 “Why not? We’re sort of dating. You expect me to not put that into consideration? Because that’s kind of impossible when you live on the ship I have a possibility of moving to.” Michael shook his head. How was Gavin not understanding?

 “I don’t want us to be a reason you say yes.”

 “Why the hell not?”

 “Because no matter what happens, Gav, we have an expiration date.” Gavin sat up straighter at that as if Michael had pushed him back. Why were they talking about this? Just five minutes ago they were giggling and playing hide-and-seek. Michael didn’t want to have this conversation. He never wanted to have this conversation. “We’re almost through with Enchantment Level 30 already, Gavin,” he admitted softly, watching Gavin’s face carefully. “We could’ve finished it today if we actually played it correctly.” Gavin was looking away from him, seemed to want to look anywhere but Michael.

 “So is that the real reason you don’t want me to join? So you’ll be rid of me?” Michael couldn’t suppress the scoff that escaped.

 “Yeah, that’s why the other day I convinced you to kill the King. And why we had horse races yesterday. And why we’re playing fucking hide-and-seek today. Because I’m just dying for our sessions to be over,” Michael said as he rolled his eyes. “You really think I’m trying to get rid of you?” Gavin’s leg started bouncing, a habit he exercised quite often, especially when he was uncomfortable.

 “Well what is ‘we have an expiration date’ supposed to mean then, Michael?”

 “It means that we’re already on borrowed time.”

 “Then why the hell don’t you want me to be there with you?” he asked, his volume rising.

 “I didn’t say that,” Michael said, but Gavin shook his head.

 “You didn’t have to. And you’re not denying it now so it’s obviously true.”

 “What do you think would happen if you _did_ join, huh? You’d be up on that ship for at least five years. _At least_. I know a guy, Matt, who’s been on that fucking ship working as an AI for twelve. Ray, he’s been there for almost five years, he still has another three. You think we’re going to be together up there that long, Gavin? I only have one more year left. One. Do you know how many people I still talk to that I knew from before I came here? My mom. This thing between us,” he said as he gestured between them, “it’s not some romantic love story that will be talked about for generations to come.” Gavin was still refusing to look at him and he knew he should shut the hell up but he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t have anyone to talk to about this stuff and he really needed to say it all while he could.

 “I wish- I _wish_ , it were, Gavin. Trust me.” He ran a hand through his curls, the slight tugging comforted him a little and he sighed heavily. “Look, if you joined the Program, I’d be lying if I said my last year on that ship wouldn’t be infinitely better. But I know, and this is me being selfish, that saying goodbye will just be that much fucking harder than it’s already going to be. I’ve only known you for a few weeks and the fact that we’re almost done with sessions is fucking killing me, Gavin. I can’t imagine losing you after knowing you for a whole goddamn year.” Michael was surprised with how much he was able to share with Gavin. Normally being so open made him feel awkward but all he could think about was getting everything off his chest and making Gavin understand _why_.

 “Why do we _have_ to say goodbye?” Gavin asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Why can’t we stay together regardless of where we are?” Michael screwed his eyes shut. The sadness in Gavin’s voice made his chest hurt, even more knowing that he put it there.

 “Because that’s how life fucking is. Everything ends the second it begins and no one is permanent.” Michael thought about his dad leaving. About his mom never being home when he was young. About having to leave everyone behind when he joined the ship. About how Geoff would be going home in a month. How he and Gavin were in one of the last sessions they’d ever have. Michael knew the story all too well and he should’ve known better than to let his relationship with Gavin evolve past anything professional. He should’ve known all that would come from it was pain.

 “No,” Gavin said. Michael opened his eyes back up and looked over at the boy. Gavin was looking back at him, a new fire ignited in his eyes. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but you’re wrong.” Michael sighed. He wished he had Gavin’s optimism.

 “Gavin-”

 “ _No_ , Michael. I don’t know everything that’s happened to make you think that life is so terrible, but it isn’t. Shitty things happen but that doesn’t mean life itself is so bad. You take the good with the bad. And the things that are incredibly wonderful? You fight for them.” Michael tried to look away but the intensity in Gavin’s eyes made it impossible. “Do you like me?” That was a dumb question. One Gavin already knew the answer to.

 “Gavin-”

 “Do you like me?” he asked again, that time more forcefully. Michael nodded. He’d never seen Gavin act so serious before. “Do you want us to be together? Longer than the time we have for sessions?”

 “Of course, Ga-”

 “Then fight for it. Fight for us, Michael. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Fight for us because what we have is real and even if it doesn’t last forever it’s important. Maybe we’re meant to be together and maybe we’re not, but don’t throw it away because you’re scared of it being over.” Michael finally looked away. Gavin had a point. He _was_ scared of it being over. He was afraid of Gavin disappearing from his life just like everyone else had. He liked Gavin. He wanted to be with Gavin. Even though he was still unwilling to believe that they could be together any longer than a year, only if Gavin joined RT, he knew that however much time they were granted would be worth it.

 Michael never thought about being able to fight for something, someone, to stay in his life. He didn’t know it was an option, or that it would even make a difference. But there Gavin was, practically shaking him by shoulders and telling him he could if he wanted to. And he definitely wanted to. He’d never wanted to fight harder for anything in his life. “I think I love you,” Michael barely whispered, surprised and utterly terrified when the words tumbled out on their own accord. He sat there in shock. He hadn’t even known he’d felt that way about the Gamer but when he looked at Gavin with wide eyes he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

 Gavin watched him carefully with furrowed brows, stared intently into Michael’s eyes. His green eyes still held their intensity and Michael felt like his chest was going to explode because he loved Gavin and wanted to be with him. He didn’t care where or how. Gavin reached up his hand and cupped Michael’s cheek softly. “Then fight for _me._ ” And Michael couldn’t think of anything to say because he knew he would. He would fight for Gavin because there was no fucking way he’d let the boy go otherwise.

 Michael didn’t know who moved first but a moment later Gavin was holding Michael against his chest and Michael was gripping Gavin’s shirt in his hand like a lifeline. Gavin pressed his lips to Michael’s hair, kissed him for a moment before speaking softly. “You have to fight, my little Mogar. Especially for the things you love.” Michael buried his face into Gavin’s chest as the boy held onto him tighter. Michael fleetingly wondered about Gavin’s own past and what taught him how to fight for what he wanted.

 


	18. Chapter 18

A few days later, Michael had one of the most peaceful awakenings of his life. “Wake up, asshole!” someone yelled in his ear as they bounced up and down on his mat. Michael peeled back his eyelids to find his friends crowded around his bed. Geoff was still in his face, yelling at him to get up and Ray was sitting on the edge of the bed bouncing up and down for added annoyance. Jack and Ryan were standing near the foot of the bed yelling along. Everyone was grinning and Michael wanted to murder them all.

 “What the fuck is wrong with you guys?” Michael spat as he tried to turn over in bed and shove his face back into his pillows.

 “No fucking way. We’ve been trying to wake you up for the past half hour,” Geoff said as he grabbed Michael’s shoulder and forced him to face the other Achievement Hunters. “We thought you were in a fucking coma.” Michael rolled his eyes.

 “You’re a piece of shit,” he said. He glared around at all them of them. “Why the fuck are you all here?”

 “Michael, do you know what day it is?” Jack asked and Michael wracked his brain.

 “Dude, are you fucking kidding me?” Ray muttered.

 “It’s your birthday, idiot,” Geoff informed. Michael blinked. Was it really his birthday already? The rest of the guys chimed in with a very lame “happy birthday” cheer. Holy shit when did that happen? “Get up. We’ve got shit planned.”

 “And you didn’t consider the fact that the birthday boy might want to sleep in for once?” Michael grumbled but sat up and grabbed his glasses off his bedside table.

 “Nah,” Ryan said. Michael sighed and pushed Geoff away so he could get up. Once he was standing, though, the man practically dragged him out of the room saying they didn’t have time for dilly dallying.

 The first stop was the Reef. Geoff told him to “hurry the fuck up and eat” because they had stuff planned in the Creation Room. Michael could only guess at what Geoff had in store, but he complied and scarfed down his eggs and bacon before letting himself be dragged, literally by the sleeve, to the lift.

 Once inside the CR, Geoff had interface open up a file in _Pixel_ and told Michael to close his eyes. He did as he was told and heard Ray laugh as, he assumed, the world loaded. “Okay, open ‘em,” Geoff said, his voice laced with amusement. Michael opened them and looked  around at Achievement City. “Ryan helped.”

 “I helped,” Ryan said. Michael laughed as he took in the makeshift balloons that floated above the Achievement Hunter logo, each one made out of different colored wool. His house had a giant yellow party hat on top and by his door was a sign that said, CONGRATS ON BEING LEGAL BUDDY. ORGY STARTS AT 8. Michael laughed out loud and shook his head.

 “Jesus Christ, you guys,” he muttered.

 “We’re not done yet,” Geoff said and threw him a map of the world. “You see that grey bit a little ways behind your house?”

 “Yeah.”

 “Fucking lead the way.” Michael grinned wider, if that were possible, and started climbing the hill behind his house and followed the map to their next destination. He instantly started trying to guess what the hell they could’ve built, but when he reached the area he stopped dead in his tracks.

 In Pixel you were able to choose a certain character to be dressed as, if you wished, and the guys had each chosen special costumes that they wore every time they played. Jack was a rider from his favorite game, _Trials_. Geoff wore a suit of armor from his favorite game, _Halo_. Ryan wore a Scottish kilt. Ray wore a tuxedo. And Michael? He was the bear from his favorite game as a kid, _Banjo Kazooie_.

 Michael stared in awe at the extremely large bear head that loomed over him. It was clear that they had spent a lot of time building it to Michael’s exactly likeliness and he had to admit, he was extremely impressed. It seemed the bear also wore a party hat, much like the one on top of his house, but the damn thing was so huge that all he could see was the brim of the hat before it disappeared from view.

 “If you’ve ever wondered what we do when you’re in sessions,” Geoff trailed off.

 “How long did this take you?” Michael asked as he ran around the sides of it and marveled at their hard work.

 “We all worked on this, so it probably took, oh I don’t know, like six hours?”

 “Goddamn,” he muttered.

 “There’s more,” Geoff said and Michael’s brows practically jumped into his hair line.

 “ _More_?” he asked. How much shit did they put into this?

 “See that door to your left?” Michael looked along the base of the bear but couldn’t see anything. “Trap door, sorry.” He looked at the ground and saw the tiny wooden door. He quickly made his way over to it and opened it up before hopping inside. The drop wasn’t too far, only a couple blocks, and Michael found himself in a stone tunnel with torches every few feet to keep it lit. He began to walk down the tunnel and heard the other guys drop down as well to follow him to the other surprise waiting for him.

 The tunel opened up to a very large room, seemingly inside the bear head, and there was a very large wool present that took up the majority of it. There was another sign in front of the box and Michael went over to read it. OPEN ME. Michael smirked and began punching the wool, breaking the blocks away so he could get inside. For as large as the wool present was, all that was inside was a tiny chest. He let out a small laugh as he made his way over to it and opened it. Inside were a bunch of diamond swords, potions of invincibility, and cake.

 “Go cakeless,” Ray mock yelled to him. Michael grabbed the items from the chest before making his way back out and to his friends who were all laughing.

 “I can’t believe you guys spent so much fucking time on this. It’s absolutely incredible. Thank you.” The men started saying “you’re welcome” and “happy birthday” and Michael went over to Ray. “Ray, you’re my best friend, so I’d like to share some of my lovely gifts with you,” he said and started throwing the abundance of cake he’d been given at Ray. Ray stared at him until he was finished, stayed in the same spot as Michael laughed and chucked cake. When he was finished Ray stared at him for a moment longer before muttering, “Die.”

 XXX

 Michael laughed as he listened to Geoff tell a story about one of the times he’d shit himself. After they spent  a few hours messing around in the Creation Room, Geoff had taken Michael over to Galacticraft’s bar and convinced the bartender, whom the pair had grown to know quite well, to give them more drinks than they were meant to be allotted. Suffice to say the two were very drunk.

 “Jesus Christ, Geoff,” Michael said, his words slurred. Geoff let out a lazy laugh and downed the rest of the amber liquid in his glass. Michael looked down at the remainder of his own drink in contemplation. He’d already drank a lot, and he was pretty wasted, but not enough to be unaware of his surroundings and definitely not enough to forget everything in the morning. If he finished his drink, though, he might.

 Geoff gasped loudly nudged Michael’s arm, made the boy look up from his glass. Geoff was looking behind Michael to the other side of the bar. “Dude the chick over there is totally checking you out,” he said, tried to whisper but it came out quite loud. Michael swiveled his head around to see the woman in question. She was cute; short blond hair, brown eyes. If Michael wasn’t dating Gavin he’d probably go over and talk to her. Instead he turned back over to Geoff and shrugged.

 “Eh, not really feeling it,” he said. Geoff’s eyes looked like they might bug out of his skull.

 “Why the hell not? Michael, you’ve been on this ship for how long now?”

 “Uh, what is it, five years?”

 “Five fucking years? Jesus Christ. How have you not hooked up with anybody? There are literally hundreds of people. _Somebody_ has to have caught your eye by now.” _Yeah, someone has_ , Michael thought, _there just not on the ship_. “Are you holding out for some special Grounder or something?”

 “Something like that,” Michael said, though it was only half true. Michael didn’t really know why he hadn’t been with anyone on the ship, or anyone at all, until Gavin. It wasn’t like Gavin was the first crush he’d ever had or anything. He started to wonder what had been so special about Gavin, but immediately stopped himself when he remembered the answer: everything. Michael turned back into his conversation when he realized Geoff had been speaking.

 “-you go over there or I’m calling her over here,” he man finished, swayed slightly in his chair.

 “Geoff, please, I already have someone,” Michael slurred.

 “What? Since when? Unless it’s Ray, Jack, or Ryan; you haven’t seen anyone else.” Michael rolled his eyes but nearly fell off his stool when his arm buzzed. He looked down at his wrist and strained his eyes to read the red lettering until he remembered that red meant Floor Room. He clicked away the message and looked back up at Geoff.

 “I got to go meet Gav,” he said, smiled at his friend before slipping off his chair. “Thanks for a great birthday, Geoff.” Michael made his way out of the bar, completely missed the look on Geoff’s face as he seemed to think intently about something.

 Michael made his way to the Floor as quickly as he could, which ended up being slower than normally, and sighed impatiently as Gus held his pad in front of Michael’s face. Gus made a face as he glared at him. “Are you drunk?” he asked.

 “Probably,” Michael said with a shrug. Gus rolled his eyes.

 “Are you going to yell at your Gamer?”

 “Only if he’s an idiot piece of shit,” Michael said honestly. Gus looked like he _really_ didn’t want to let him go in, but eventually he sighed and lowered his pad.

 “Just…just go.” Michael nodded curtly and walked past him. He walked over to his pad, stumbling only once while going up the steps, and punched in the code to meet Gavin. Once inside his pod he relaxed into the darkness and waited to appear in Gavin’s room.

 “Hey, Michael,” Gavin said when he entered the room. He was standing near where Michael always appeared, rather than sitting on the couch as usual, and pulled Michael in by the waist before he pressed their lips together. Michael instantly kissed back, but was slightly disappointed when Gavin pulled back a moment later.

 “Well, this _is_ a happy birthday,” Michael said, mostly to himself. Gavin pulled back a little more.

 “It’s your birthday?” he asked incredulously. Michael hummed his affirmation. “Michael, why didn’t you tell me?”

 “I just did,” he said. He put his arms around Gavin’s shoulders and pulled him closer again. Gavin seemed a little upset by the fact that he hadn’t been previously informed, but smiled a little when Michael brought the boy’s face back to his own. He kissed Gavin easily and let his fingers tangle into the hair at the nape of Gavin’s neck. Gavin’s hands were strong and firm and his hips. Michael pressed his body closer to Gavin’s and deepened the kiss, but Gavin broke away from him with a laugh. Michael was about to ask why he was laughing, and more importantly why they stopped kissing, when Gavin spoke up.

 “You’re piss drunk, aren’t you,” he said.

 “Intoxicated by my boi,” he joked and Gavin squeaked.

 “You’re a right mung, Michael.”

 “You’re a _left_ mung.” Gavin began laughing harder and Michael joined in with him. “Yeah alright, I’m pretty fucking drunk.”

 “Do you not want to play?”

 “Of course I wanna play, Gavvy,” he said. Gavin bit his lip in thought for a moment.

 “Alright. You start up the game. I’ll be right back.” Gavin pulled away and Michael stared at his back in confusion.

 “Where the hell are you going?”

 “I’ll be right back!” he called over his shoulder as he left the room. Michael smiled to himself as he took his pad and loaded up ‘Enchantment Level 30.’ He sat down on the couch as he waited for Gavin, who returned a minute later with a bottle in his hand. Michael eyed the contents and grinned when he realized what Gavin’s plan was. Gavin unscrewed the cap of the bottle and took a swig, made a face as he pulled it away from his lips. “Give me about ten minutes, Michael, and I’ll be as drunk as you are.”

 XXX

 “ _AND IIIIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUU_!” Gavin sang at the top of his lungs as the pair fucked around in the game. They had made their way back through the Nether portal and decided to try to find the city they’d stumbled into earlier. They had gotten turned around in a dead forest, though, and had nearly died when a group of Magma Cubes decided to attack. “Michael, I will always love you,” he said, his tone back to conversational level.

 “I’ll always love you too, Gav,” he said. One of the positives of them playing while drunk was that their brain filters seemed to disappear and neither felt awkward or embarrassed to say anything and everything they thought. Michael knew he’d probably wake up in the morning bright red when he thought back on the night, but in the moment he really couldn’t bring himself to give a shit.

 “When you’re year’s up, am I moving to Jersey or are you moving to Texas?” Michael blinked.

 “Wait why would I move to Texas?”

 “Because that’s where I live, you silly little sausage.” Michael froze in place.

 “Wait, what?!” he cried, alcohol made the information seem much more staggering than it actually was. “You live in America?!” Gavin started laughing. “I thought you were in England!”

 “No, I’m in Austin.”

 “What? Have you always been in Austin?”

 “Nah, only for about two years.” Michael scoffed and rolled his eyes.

 “That _is_ always, Gavin.”

 “What are you on about?”

 “This whole fucking time I’ve known you, you’ve been in Austin,” Michael summarized, looked over at his boi who was still focused intently on the screen.

 “Yeah,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing and he didn’t understand why Michael was telling him.

 “That’s what I’m fucking talking about!”

 “Oh,” he said simply.

 “You’re a fucking idiot,” Michael muttered before turning back to the screen. “Where the fuck did you go?” Michael asked as he looked around, unable to see Gavin’s green clothing anywhere.

 “I’m up here, Michael,” he said and he looked up to see his Gamer sitting at the top of one of the trees.

 “You’re like a goddamn kid in a grocery store. You just fucking run off. I feel like you’re mom, Gavin. _Where the hell did my son go_?!” he screeched in a high pitched voice. Gavin giggled and scrunched up his nose.

 “I bloody hope you’re not my mum,” Gavin said and Michael laughed.

 “Gavin,” he said, making his voice sound deep and raspy. “This is your pappy.”

 “Michael, no,” Gavin whined, but when he looked over the boy was grinning. Michael grinned back and scooted closer to the boy.

 “C’mere, Gavvy,” he continued in the same voice. Michael’s face was next to Gavin’s and Gavin let out a squawk.

 “Michael,” he said weakly and Michael erupted into laughter. He let his head fall so his forehead rested on Gavin’s shoulder and soon enough he felt the other boy’s body shake with laughter as well. “Michael!” Gavin cried suddenly. Michael shot up his head and looked at the boy. “You never answered my question.” Michael furrowed his brows. When the hell did Gavin ask him a question?

 “What are you talking about?”

 “Jersey or Texas?” Michael smiled again and rolled his eyes.

 “I don’t know, boi,” he said and turned back to the screen, but stayed close enough to Gavin so their bodies were pressed together. “Have you given any more thought to joining RT?” Gavin nodded, his head moved like a bobble-head.

 “I’m not gonna.”

 “Oh yeah?” Michael asked, surprised. “Why not?” Gavin’s lips formed a tight line and when Michael looked over at him he saw a blush creeping onto his cheeks. “What?” Michael asked, unable to keep a smile at bay. Gavin was adorable when he blushed.

 “Alright,” he said loudly, like he was defending his answer before he even gave it. “I know you said not to, but I thought about us,” he continued. Michael’s smile slowly turned into a smirk at Gavin’s words as he remembered their conversation the other day. Michael had told him not to make a decision based on their relationship, which Gavin had apparently elected to ignore. Ultimately, though, it was Gavin’s decision. And after their talk about fighting for the things you want, he felt a swell of pride in his chest that Gavin thought so much of their relationship to let it, somewhat, dictate such a heavy life decision.

 “I figure, you’ll be done in a year, yeah? Well I’d rather wait a year for you now then get a year with you and have to wait who knows how long later.” Michael leaned forward and kissed Gavin on the cheek. He looked back at the screen but felt Gavin’s eyes on him. Michael felt his smile growing as he tried to force his eyes to stay forward but finally he couldn’t take it anymore and looked back at his boi. Gavin watched him with a sort of dazed expression, eyes traced over every bit of Michael’s face before landing on his lips. Michael’s tongue darted out to wet them.

 “What’s the weather like in Texas?” he managed to get out before Gavin captured Michael’s lips with him own. It was sloppier than earlier, now that Gavin was drunk as well, but Michael didn’t mind in the slightest. He dropped his pad to the ground before grabbing Gavin’s out of his hands and doing the same, the Gamer’s landing with a dull thud.

 With the pads out of the way the boys quickly positioned themselves differently on the couch. Gavin cupped Michael’s cheek with one hand as he used the other to push himself up and Michael grabbed his waist to help guide him closer. Michael lay back so his head was resting on the armrest and he brought his legs up so they were resting on either side of Gavin’s as the other boy hovered over him, never disconnecting their lips. The loveseat wasn’t long enough for them to stretch out properly but they made do with what they had.

 Michael wrapped his arm around to Gavin’s lower back and pushed down gently, let Gavin know he could lean his weight down on Michael. Gavin eagerly pressed closer to Michael as he licked Michael’s bottom lip. Michael immediately opened his mouth and his heart raced as he heard Gavin’s soft moan. Michael began to tug at Gavin’s shirt, lifted it up slightly by the hem and let his fingers trail along the bare skin of Gavin’s back. Gavin bit Michael’s lip before pulling away from his mouth and leaving a trail of sloppy kisses along his jaw.

 Gavin moved his lips down Michael’s neck and began to suck on the soft flesh, nibbled every so often and flicked his tongue. Michael bucked his hips as he inhaled sharply, let out a tiny groan when he felt Gavin’s growing erection against his thigh. “ _Fuck me_ ,” he muttered. Gavin pulled back from Michael’s neck and moved back to his mouth, kissed him roughly as he pulled back his hips and brought them down again, rocked against Michael.

 Michael moaned against Gavin’s lips, loved the friction created by Gavin’s movements. He was hard, incredibly so, and he knew that Gavin’s lips mixed with the motion of his hips would drive him over the edge soon enough. Michael slid one of his hands down from Gavin’s back to cup the boy’s ass and press him down harder each time. Gavin caught on quickly enough and matched their hips together as he ground harder and Michaels head was practically spinning with arousal.

 Their kisses grew sloppier the closer they got and they ended up breaking apart as they panted, needed to catch their breaths. “Michael,” Gavin whined and Michael knew the boy was just as close as he was. “Michael, I-” he broke off with a moan. Michael held onto Gavin tightly as the boy began shuddering above him, Michael only a moment behind. Gavin continued rocking their hips together as their rode out their orgasms. Once they were both still, they pressed their foreheads together and breathed heavily.

 They stated like that for a while, just held onto each other until their breathing slowed and steadied. “I love you,” Gavin whispered.

 “I love you too,” he whispered back.  


	19. Chapter 19

Michael groggily ate his lunch with Jack and Ryan; Ray and Geoff were both in sessions. Even though he’d gotten to sleep in that morning till nine, he was still exhausted. It had taken him a moment to wake up properly, but once he did memories from the previous night flooded his brain. He’d been incredibly drunk and saw Gavin, who immediately got drunk as well, and the two ended up making out on Gavin’s loveseat. It had taken a while before Michael could stop blushing at the memory.

 “Hey, assholes,” Geoff called as he sat down in the empty space next to Michael.

 “Sup, Geoff?” Michael asked.

 “How was your session?” asked Ryan. Geoff scoffed.

 “Fucking brutal. Seriously my Gamer is such an idiot. He died at least twenty times today. I can’t fucking wait to finish the goddamn game so I can go back home to my wife.” Geoff had been on the ship for seven years and hadn’t seen his wife in person since.

 “It’s going to be weird without you, Geoff,” Michael said, unable to keep himself from thinking about the inevitable days to come. He had to admit, he was going to miss the man. Geoff had been like a father to Michael for the past few years, or at least an older brother. He always gave Michael advice, whether the boy wanted it or not, and always knew the right things to say. “Who’s going to make games for us in Pixel when you leave?” Geoff rolled his eyes and shoved Michael’s arm.

 “I’ll let you make ‘em for the next month so you can ease yourself into it.”

 “That sounds more like a Ryan Job,” Michael said. He felt his wristband vibrate then and he tuned out of the conversation. He looked down and saw blue lettering that let him know he had a message. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: MORNING LOVE. RESPOND? Michael bit his cheek at an attempt to hide his smile. SUP BABY? He wrote back before pressing send. Michael imagined Gavin’s face scrunching up as he read the message, probably giggling to himself. Michael took a sip of water before looking down to find another message.

 MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: LAST NIGHT WAS PRETTY TOP. REPSOND? Michael could feel his cheeks instantly heat up as he blushed. He quickly jotted out a reply before pressing send. WE WERE DRUNK AS SHIT, DUDE. Michael bounced his leg up and down as he waited for a reply. He’d been hanging out with Gavin too much. A moment later a message arrived. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: YOU SAY THAT LIKE IT’S A BAD THING. ALCOHOL MAKES ME MORE CONFIDENT. WE SHOULD’VE BEVVED UP SOONER. RESPOND? Michael rolled his eyes. YOU WERE SOBER DURING OUR FIRST KISS, IDIOT. PRETTY SURE YOU DON’T NEED THE HELP.

 “God dammit, Michael.” Michael’s head shot up at the mention of his name and he saw Geoff staring at him, a look somewhere between sympathy and aggravation. “Please tell me you’re not that stupid.” Michael blinked at him. He hadn’t been listening to their conversation and he had no idea what he was being accused of. But when he looked across the table, Jack and Ryan seemed to be engrossed in their own conversation and not paying any mind to Geoff and Michael.

 “What are you talking about?” Michael asked, directing his attention back to Geoff. He felt his band buzz and saw Geoff eyes flicker to it briefly before his brows furrowed deeper.

 “I mean,” he began, bringing his voice quieter so it was barely above a whisper. Michael had to strain himself to ensure he heard the man in the loud room. “The way you smiled last night when you got called in, and you said you were with someone… I thought that maybe I was just reading too much into it. That you were just saying shit because you didn’t want to talk to that chick and then you were a happy, drunk asshole to get to see your friend. I told myself that that was all it was. There was no fucking way that _Michael Jones_ would ever be that much of a fucking moron to date his Gamer,” he finished under his breath, though Michael could still read his lips. The blood in Michael’s veins turned ice cold.

 Michael looked away, unable to look Geoff in the eye after the accusation. Of course, Geoff was right. How could Michael have been so stupid? Geoff wasn’t supposed to know. _No one_ was supposed to know. But he’d been drunk and lost his filter as well as his judgment. Michael couldn’t believe he’d let that happen. What if it had been someone other than Geoff? What if he’d gone to talk to that woman and ended up hinting it off to her? Michael allowed himself to feel slightly relieved that he’d only spoken to Geoff, but that still didn’t change the fact that he’d fucked up.

 “And now you’re fucking messaging the kid?” Geoff asked incredulously. Michael felt like he couldn’t breathe.

 “Geoff,” Michael tried weakly but the man continued.

 “How the fuck did you let this happen, Michael? You’re a good kid. A _smart_ kid. A hell of a lot smarter than _that_. You know better than to start a fucking relationship with the guy.” Michael felt like he was being scolded by a disappointed parent. But Geoff wasn’t his dad and Michael felt a surge of defiance.

 “Just last night you were giving me shit about not hooking up with anyone and now you’re fucking pissed off that I am?”

 “Are you seriously trying to turn this around on me? That makes zero sense. You know why? Because I’m not fucking my Gamer.”

 “Technically, I’m not either.”

 “Oh don’t you fucking start on that whole hologram bullshit, Michael, I will punch your face off your face. I don’t care if it’s not your physical body; you can still feel everything.” That hadn’t even been what Michael meant. He knew everything he did with Gavin counted, that was kind of the point. He meant that he literally hadn’t slept with Gavin. Michael fleetingly wondered how many people in the past Geoff had known to date their Gamers and use that excuse. Maybe AI and Gamer relationships weren’t as uncommon as Michael thought.

 “Why can’t you just be fucking happy for me? This is my first relationship and I happen to really like the guy. You’re my friend, dude. Why the hell can’t you be supportive like Ray?”

 “Ray encouraged you?” Geoff seethed, still only barely a whisper. “Why the hell are you taking relationship advice from Ray anyway?”

 “Apparently he was the right choice since he actually cared about when I had to say.” Geoff rolled his eyes at that. Michael wasn’t sure why he was defending himself so adamantly. He knew Geoff was right. Geoff’s voice of reason was the one he’d wanted in the first place. Instead he’d gotten Ryan’s telling him to be friends with Gavin. Instead he had Ray telling him it was okay to date Gavin. It was too late for Geoff to tell him to back off now. Now he was fighting.

 “If it were _anyone_ else I would, Michael. Jesus Christ, dude; you fucking know how dangerous this shit is. You are the last person I would expect-”

 “Well it’s already happened. There’s no fucking point in you trying to talk me out of it, Geoff, because it’s too late. The damage is done and I can’t fucking take any of it back.”

 “No, but you can stop this _now_. Before it goes any further.” Michael stared at his friend and let out a deep sigh. He was tired of arguing with the man, especially since everything Geoff said was true. He was just too little, too late. Michael shook his head.

 “I can’t, Geoff,” he said. His voice was gentler, no longer whisper-yelling but instead speaking softly.  

 “Why the hell not?” _Because I love him._ Did Michael even need to say it? By the way Geoff was looking at him, he figured the answer was no. “No. Michael, no. No, no, no, no, no. Come on,” he practically whined. Michael scoffed.

 “It’s not like I asked for this, Geoff. I know how much of a fucking mong I am for letting it happen in the first place, but I did. It happened and I just,” Michael trailed off with a shrug. “I don’t regret it.”

 “Not yet,” the man muttered. Michael glanced over at the other side of the table where the other two men were laughing to each other, blissfully unaware of Geoff and Michael’ serious conversation. “You don’t regret it because you haven’t seen the repercussions yet.”

 “I know what will happen, Geoff,” Michael said.

 “Do you?” he asked. Michael thought back to Miles, the guy who slept in his dorm a year ago. He remembered seeing the man get dragged away by Guards as he pleaded with them. He still didn’t know what had happened when they’d brought him to his destination. “Michael, you don’t just get some slap on the wrist and a warning. This is serious.”

 “Why, though? What the hell is the big deal anyway? It’s not like we’re some fucking lab experiments. We’re not actual holograms. We’re fucking people from Earth playing games with other people from Earth. Why the hell is it such a fucking crime? I don’t get it,” Michael ranted. He could see it being unprofessional but honestly he didn’t see how it was such a big deal to Responsive Technology.

 “Don’t get what?” Jack asked. Michael froze and looked over to see the other two men watching them curiously. Geoff straightened up, leaned away from Michael, and regarded the two lazily as if the past five minutes had never happened.

 “What a creepy motherfucker Ryan is.”

 “What the hell did I do?” Ryan asked. Michael felt his band buzz again and looked down instinctively. Another message. He could feel Geoff’s gaze on him so he looked back up and ignored his band.

 “You have to go to see Gavin?” Jack asked. Michael shook his head.

 “Nah, it was just a message,” Michael said lamely.

 “You want to answer it?”

 “Go ahead, Michael,” Geoff said condescendingly. Michael glared at Geoff for a moment, but since all three were staring at him expectantly Michael clicked the buttons on his band and checked his messages. The first was from GavinoFree. The second one was from Bender65. Michael stared at the newer message for a moment, the name opening up a floodgate of memories, before he opened it.

 MESSAGE FROM BENDER65: HEY MICHAEL! I HOPE THIS IS STILL YOUR GAMERTAG. I ACTUALLY MEANT TO SEND THIS YESTERDAY BUT I HAD NO FUCKING IDEA IF YOU STILL USED THIS TAG SO I PUT IT OFF BUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WORD AROUND THE STREET IS THAT YOU’RE COMING HOME SOON, OR AT LEAST WITHIN THE YEAR. I HOPE THINGS ARE GOING GOOD UP THERE ON THE SHIP. WE ALL MISS YOU DOWN HERE. *COUGH* I MEAN, WE HATE YOU. NEVER COME BACK. I HOPE YOU’RE NOT TOO GAMED OUT UP THERE TO PLAY WHEN YOU GET BACK. WE HAVE A LOT OF CATCHING UP TO DO AND I PLAN ON KICKING YOUR ASS IN MARIO PARTY 30. –KERRY. RESPOND?

 Michael reread the message a few times. So Kerry did remember him. Michael missed his old friends. His old life before he’d joined the AI Program. He wondered what his life would’ve been like if he’d declined Responsive Technology’s offer, but quickly shook his head to remove those thoughts. Although he would’ve been able to have a normal life with friends and school, Michael’s mom would’ve still had to work multiple jobs and he was sure it would’ve gotten harder as he and his brother grew up.

 Michael liked to blame RT and say that he regretted his decision in joining, but he honestly didn’t. He didn’t see the point in regretting anything in his life because no matter how he felt about the past, that was what it was. It had already happened and there was no point dwelling on it because it was unchangeable. All he could do was look forward and make the best of what he had for the future.

 HEY KEEERRY, Michael began to type out his reply. THANKS FOR THE LATE MESSAGE, YOU PRICK. GALACTIFRACT’S ALRIGHT BUT I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT TO BE BACK ON SOLID GROUND. WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE A TON OF SHIT TO CATCH UP ON AND YOU’RE FUCKING ON FOR MARIO. GET READY TO SUCK MY YOSHI DICK WHEN YOU LOSE. –MICHAEL .

 Michael smiled as he pressed send before looking at the message from Gavin. YEAH, BECAUSE OUR FIRST KISS WASN’T AWKWARD AT ALL. SPEAKING OF KISSES, ARE YOU BUSY RIGHT NOW? I WANT TO SEE MY LOVELY LITTLE MICHAEL. Michael sent out a quick reply to him as well. SOMETIMES I WORRY YOU ONLY LIKE ME FOR MY BODY. READY WHENEVER YOU ARE.

 A moment later Michael’s arm buzzed and he was being called to the Floor Room. Geoff gave him a look that said, “We are in no way finished with our conversation,” and Michael nodded. He wanted to talk more about it with Geoff anyway, mainly because he wanted to know just how much Geoff knew about Gamer/AI relationships. He had a feeling the man knew what had happened to Miles.

 Michael left the Reef and made his was down to the Floor, made his way past Gus quickly enough, before entering the large room. It wasn’t until he looked up at his pod that he froze. A woman in a pure white pantsuit stood beside his pod and stared intently down at the pad she held in her hand. Michael steadied his breath and made his way over to her; he couldn’t ignore a session and the sooner he arrived the better it would be on him. Whatever _it_ was.

 “Hello, Michael Jones,” the woman greeted as she noticed his approaching. The woman had dark brown eyes and silvery hair, though she didn’t look over thirty. “Are you ready to start your review session?” _Fuck. Me._ Michael knew he had to tell Gavin _before_ they started the session otherwise the boy would end up making out with him the second they saw each other. And that was the last thing Michael needed.

 “Yeah, I’m ready,” he said, hoped his voice didn’t betray his nerves. “Do you mind if I reply to a message real quick? I was talking to my brother earlier and-” The woman cut him off with a wave of her hand.

 “Go ahead, Mr. Jones.” If he were in a cartoon, Michael would’ve wiped a gallon of sweat off his brow. He quickly clicked into his wristband, thankful the woman was more engrossed in her pad to watch Michael, and wrote out a message to Gavin. BEING WATCHED TODAY. He just hoped the boy would see it.

 “Okay, I’m good to go.”

 “Great. Go ahead and start up.” Michael placed his hand on the scanner and punched his code in the keypad before opening his pod and lying down. The woman looked down at him through the glass of her pad. As Michael slid on his gloves, the woman continued. “This isn’t your first review so I trust you know the procedure?” Michael nodded his head and the woman closed the lid over him. Michael always hated review days because he hated being watched. He knew he was a good AI, the second best on the ship, but he felt uncomfortable knowing someone was waiting outside watching his every move.

  Michael took a deep, steadying breath as the world around him disappeared and he was standing in Gavin’s bedroom. Gavin was sitting on his couch with his pad lying in his crossed legs. He looked over at Michael tiredly and nodded toward him. Michael assumed that was Gavin’s interpretation of “acting casual,” but Michael knew the boy well enough to recognize the glint in his eye as he looked at Michael. “Good afternoon, GavinoFree,” Michael said, standing up straight and holding his pad out in front of him. “Would you like to continue from your last save data?”

 “Yeah,” Gavin said simply and Michael wanted to roll his eyes so bad. Gavin was clearly trying very hard to act like there was nothing between the two of them but he just looked like an idiot to the AI. Michael pulled up the game and loaded Gavin’s character in the outer edges of the Kingdom. Gavin started making his way toward the castle, only occasionally asking Michael if he was going in the right direction.

 It was a very quiet session. Since the past few days had been filled with goofing around, Gavin knew the layout of Cloudberry Kingdom pretty well. Michael would give him little tips every now and then, short cuts or items to pick up, but he mainly did it because he knew he was being watched and that was the kind of things he would normally do with a Gamer. It felt awkward and tedious, though, and Michael hoped he sounded convincing enough.

 They only played for about an hour and a half before Gavin said he was done playing for the day. Michael didn’t know if it was because of the stiffness of the session, the fact they were extremely close to finishing the game, or a combination of the two, but Michael was extremely relieved.

 Michael nodded to Gavin and saved the game before exiting back out to the title screen. “Until next time. Enjoy the rest of your evening, GavinoFree,” Michael said and the corners of Gavin’s mouth twitched upward before he masked it with his uncaring façade.

 “Thanks,” Gavin said, looked over at the AI and Michael allowed himself another second to look at him before he cut the stream. Once back to his physical body on the ship, Michael opened his pod and sat up, let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his curls.

 “Thank you for your time, Mr. Jones,” the woman said, still standing beside his pod. She was tapping away on her pad but she paused for a moment to offer Michael a gentle smile, which he reciprocated. And with that the woman walked away and out of the Floor.

 XXX

 MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: HOW DID WE DO? RESPOND? Michael read the message as he lay in bed that night. He’d spent the rest of his own evening with the Achievement Hunters, though he didn’t get a chance to continue his conversation with Geoff. Michael stifled a yawn as he replied. IT’S NOT LIKE A TEST WHERE THEY GO OVER SHIT WITH YOU AFTERWARDS, GAV. THEY WATCH YOU PLAY AND RECORD THEIR EVALUTION INTO YOUR FILE. WE DON’T GET TO KNOW THE RESULTS. EVER.

 Michael stared at the ceiling as he waited for the boy to reply. It seemed to take an eternity, though, and he could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness.

 Finally, Michael’s arm buzzed and clicked open the message. REALLY? WELL, I THINK WE DID A GOOD JOB. IT SUCKED NOT BEING ABLE TO TALK TO YOU THOUGH. I MISS MY BOI. Michael smiled at that. I MISS YOU TOO, GAVVY. WE’LL PLAY FOR REAL TOMORROW. I’D TELL YOU TO BUZZ ME IN RIGHT NOW BUT IM FUCKING EXHAUSTED. Michael spent another minute fighting to keep his eyes open before Gavin responded. GET SOME SLEEP, MICHAEL. I’LL SEE YOU IN THE MORNING. SWEET DREAMS, LOVE. Michael forced himself to remain conscious for a moment longer as he replied before letting his eyes close and drifting off into peaceful sleep. CAN’T WAIT. LOVE YOU.


	20. Chapter 20

Michael smiled as he listened to Ray tell everyone about how his session the previous day went. They were all sitting in the Reef eating lunch and relaxing. “He was seriously the worst at first-person shooters. It’s a miracle I didn’t kill myself.” Geoff laughed. It had been Ray’s last session with his Gamer and now he was enjoying his day off before he’d be assigned a new one.

 “Speaking of killing yourself, you are going to love what I have planned later in _Pixel_ ,” Geoff said with a mischievous grin. Michael started wondering what Geoff could’ve possibly made, but he decided it could be pretty much anything since Ray nearly fell asleep every time they played in the Creation Room. Michael felt his wrist buzz and he looked down to find a message from Gavin. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: =P. RESPOND? Michael shook his head minutely before responding. 8==D.

 “Should I just get it over with now or?” Ray continued as he motioned with the knife in his hand.

 “Nah. I want to see the happiness leave your face when you see what it is before you kill yourself.”

 “Yeah, and _I’m_ the creepy one,” Ryan said.

 “You trapped a fucking cow under your house in _Pixel_!” Michael chimed in. “One that you named after one of your real cows back home.”

 “Edgar’s never once complained.”

 “All he ever does is cry for help. You can hear his desperate moos all over Achievement City.”

 “No, no, no. He’s saying what a great fucking time he’s having. He and the Emergency Chicken are having the time of their lives,” Geoff said and the others laughed. Michael got another message and he checked it as Ryan began to defend himself for the millionth time. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: YOU SILLY LITTLE SAUSAGE. DID YOU GET LOTS OF SLEEP BOI?

 HELL YEAH. MOST SLEEP I’VE GOTTEN SINCE COMING ON THE SHIP. Michael took a bite out of his sandwich and listened to the conversation in front of him with amusement as he waited for Gavin to reply. He didn’t have to wait long, though. MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: GOOD. WILL I BE ABLE TO SEE YOU TODAY? DO YOU HAVE PLANS WITH THE ACHIEVEMENT HUNTERS? RESPOND? Michael grinned at message. WE’RE GONNA PLAY A LITTLE BIT OF PIXEL SOON. BUT I’LL BE FREE THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON.

 MESSAGE FROM GAVINOFREE: SEE YOU IN A FEW HOURS THEN? RESPOND?

 PERFECT. Michael settled back into the conversation as Geoff spoke and caught his attention. “Man, the first thing I’m doing when I get back home is have some real Texas barbeque.”

 “Wait, you live in Texas?” Michael asked.

 “Yeah, you didn’t know that?” Maybe he had known, but he didn’t remember hearing it before. He only really listened now because to Michael, Texas meant Gavin. “So does Jack.” Michael blinked. He definitely hadn’t known that.

 “Where are you from, Ryan?”

 “Georgia.” Huh.

 “Want to know where I’m from?” Ray asked and Michael shook his head.

 “Nah.” He already knew Ray was from New York. The two had had countless conversations about meeting up for bro dates when they were both back home since Michael lived in New Jersey.

 “Get shit on, Ray,” Geoff said. Michael laughed and felt his band buzz. He hadn’t expected Gavin to reply, but when he saw red lettering he was even more confused. Didn’t they agree to wait a few hours before starting a session? As he read the words, though, his confusion increased even more. As did his anxiety. Michael held his breath as he read the words over and over again until Jack asked him what was wrong.

 “I, uh,” Michael looked up at the guys as the words ran on a loop in his mind. “I’m being called in by the Commander.” The looked on Geoff’s face was all Michael needed to know that he was royally fucked.

 “The Commander? No one ever sees the Commander,” Jack said, but Michael could barely hear him. He stared into Geoff’s eyes as the man stared back, looking scared and worried and sympathetic and Michael knew he wasn’t being called in for a pat on the back and a job-well-done.

 “How do they know?” Michael asked, ignored Jack and spoke directly to Geoff. “How could they possibly know, Geoff?” Geoff just shook his head. Ray looked like he’d caught on to what was happening and looked at Michael worriedly as well.

 “I don’t know,” Geoff muttered. Michael heard Jack asking what was going on but he didn’t have time to explain everything to him and Ryan. He figured Geoff and Ray would fill them in after he left. He still didn’t know where to, though, or what would happen to him when he got there.

 “What do I do, Geoff?” he asked, growing panicked. “What do I do? What’s going to happen to me?”   

 “You- you’re going to see the Commander,” Geoff muttered. “ _Fuck._ You, uh…you’re not going to remember.”

 “What do you mean, ‘I’m not going to remember?’” Michael asked. Remember what?

 “That’s what they fucking _do_. They make sure you forget,” Geoff said solemnly. What the fuck did that mean? Make sure he forgets? Michael felt like he couldn’t breathe. He kept trying but he felt like the oxygen wouldn’t get anywhere near his lungs. How the hell were they going to make him forget? Michael was terrified to find out. He didn’t want to forget Gavin. He didn’t want to forget anything. He had finally found something in his life that he was willing to stand up for and now it was going to be taken away from him?

  _So that’s why Miles got dragged off by Guards_ , Michael thought. _He didn’t go in when he was summoned and had to be taken forcefully_. Michael pressed his palms against his eyes and attempted to steady his breathing as he thought. _So I can either go willingly now, or try to ignore it and get brought in anyway._ Michael decided he’d rather go himself than sit with the sinking feeling in his chest for an hour or so before being hauled off.

 He still didn’t understand how they’d found out, though. He’d been so careful.

 And yet, maybe he hadn’t. Gavin was the only Gamer he’d ever had that he spent full sessions with almost every day. He’d talked about their relationship with Ray openly in their dorm at night multiple times. He’d also talked to Geoff the previous day in the Reef. Plus he was always messaging Gavin. Maybe RT read their messages and found out that way. Michael wanted to punch himself for being so careless and stupid.

  _There’s nothing you can do about it now, dumbass_. The damage had already been done. The way they found out didn’t matter because it didn’t change the fact that Responsive Technology knew. And although he _really_ didn’t want to, Michael had to face them.

 He slid his hands down his face and opened his eyes to see the men all staring at him cautiously. Michael swallowed thickly and turned to Ray. “It’s going to be okay,” Ray said and Michael wished he could believe him. “Do you want me to tell him?” Michael sighed and it took a moment before he actually heard what Ray said because his mind was still reeling.

 “Ray,” Michael began, shook his head because he couldn’t ask Ray to do that. For all he knew, messages where the reason they’d caught on in the first place and he didn’t want to cause any trouble for his friend.

 “Would you rather him find out by being told he’s getting a new AI?”

 “No, but-”

 “Alright, then.”

 “Ray, I can’t ask you to do that.”

 “Which is why you don’t have to.” Michael bit his lip as he stared at his friend. Ray seemed pretty adamant about it and Michael knew he didn’t have time to argue with him, no matter how much he wanted to. Michael sighed.

 “It’s okay, Michael,” Geoff said, added a nod when Michael looked over at him. Michael felt like his entire body was being held together by a thread. A thread that was becoming less taut by the minute. Finally he allowed himself to nod and stand up with shaky legs before he could steady himself.

 “I’ll see you guys later?” Michael mumbled. He puffed out his chest and stood tall as he made his way out of the Reef, let the buzz of conversation cloud the thoughts in his mind as he kept his head high.

 Once out in the hallway Michael fought to keep his calm composure, but it fell slightly when he looked out the large window along the wall and saw the massive planet below him. He couldn’t help imagining Gavin sitting in his bedroom and getting Ray’s message. He wondered what it would say.

 “Michael Jones. The Commander has requested your presence and is awaiting your arrival. I will take you there now,” Interface said when he entered the lift. Michael forced himself to remain composed when the doors reopened and he found himself on a floor he’d never seen before. It was similar to all the others: silvery chrome floors, walls, and ceilings.

 He’d walked out and into what seemed to be a large waiting area. On the wall across the way was a large glass screen and, when Michael moved closer, words appeared on it. GOOD MORNING, MICHAEL JONES. THE COMMANDER IS EXPECTING YOU. The words faded and new ones took their place. PLEASE FOLLOW THE CORRIDOR TO YOUR LEFT. Michael looked over and saw a long hallway with a few doors on either side. THE COMMANDER IS WAITING FOR YOU IN THE ROOM AT THE END OF THE HALL.

 Michael took a deep breath and felt his feet move on their own accord, bringing him down the long corridor and toward the door at the end. Michael was briefly reminded of dreams he’d had as a kid where he’d be walking down a hallway and the end would keep getting further and further away. Unfortunately, he reached the door before him all too soon. The door slid open before Michael could even think to do anything and he walked inside; his stomach churned and he felt like his ribs were caving in on his lungs.

 It was a quite spacious room, though it was fairly empty. About fifteen of so feet into the room the floor dropped a step and on the lower ground was a long desk, the entire top of it made of glass. On the ceiling were small, circular lights that emitted very little of anything, but bathed the room in a soft blue glow. The main source of lighting came from above the desk and seemed to create a sort of spotlight, though not as harsh.

 Michael’s eyes immediately went to the man sitting in a large leather chair behind the desk. He looked to be in his early forties. Light brown hair that greyed at the temples, squared glasses that fell over deep set eyes, and a short boxed beard. He looked up when he noticed Michael walk in and motioned for him to take the seat in front of the desk.

 Michael sat down cautiously and stared at the man before him. The Commander was tapping things out on the glass desk top, which seemed to work much like the hand held pads they used, and after a moment of silence he closed what he’d been working on and opened something new. Michael instantly saw his own photo and files.

 “Mr. Jones,” he said in a slight Southern drawl, casual enough as he seeped and scrolled through the different information. “Second highest AI in the ranking. Good.” Michael began to wring his hands and fingers nervously as sat there. “You’ve been with us for a few years now, yes?” Michael hesitated for a moment, unsure if he was supposed to answer or not.

 “Yes,” he finally said, glad he sounded a lot more confident that he felt. Michael thought he might throw up or pass out. Or both. But the Commander just nodded.

 “And have you enjoyed your time?” Was he doing that on purpose? Dragging it out as even more of a punishment? Or had Michael misunderstood and they actually had no idea about his relationship with Gavin. That was possible, right?

 “Yes. I have, sir.”

 “Good,” he said, but he kept his eyes on the files, sounded distracted and distant. “It’s a shame you’ll be leaving us soon,” he said a few moments later. “You and Mr. Ramsey are highly valued here at Responsive Technology. It’s too bad you both are leaving so close to each other.” Was that what this was about? Did they want Michael to stay on the ship longer or something?

 “Well, I still have about a year left,” Michael said, but the Commander seemed to ignore his statement.

 “I had wanted you to become a mentor before you left. I thought it would be good to pass on your knowledge to new recruits.” Was a year not enough time for that? Michael was extremely confused. His fear and anxiety subsided and all he wanted was to know why he was really there.

 “Sir?” Michael asked. The Commander looked up at him for a moment before looking back down and letting out a long breath as he pushed Michael’s files to the side of the desk.

 “You’re not like the others, Michael. You have promise.” What the hell was happening? “Sure, we had an issue with rage when you first arrived, but you’ve maintained a top position since your first few months with us, much like your friend Mr. Narvaez.

 “It’s clear you have a knack for gaming, as well as communication, factors which we here at Responsive Technology pride ourselves on. I’ve spoken to the Chairman and Counselor on previous occasions about offering you a more…permanent position with us.” Okay, so it was a job offer then? Michael’s head was spinning. One moment he was nervous, the next confused, then worried, then relieved, then confused again. He was having emotional whiplash.

 “Unfortunately, that only makes my job now that much harder.” _What?_ “Since you’ve been with us for a few years, I assume you are familiar with the rules of fraternizing with our customers.” Michael felt his stomach churn again and his heart fell to his stomach. So this _was_ about Gavin. He’d been stupid to let himself think it could be anything else. All he did was give himself a false sense of security. “And that willingly engaging in any form of relationship past the professional is prohibited.”

 Michael found himself staring at the Commander’s desk, unable to look at the man’s face as he continued on. “I assume you are also aware that upon joining our team, you signed a legal document stating that you would adhere to the rules and guidelines set for those in the AI Program, also outlining that breaking said rules and guidelines would result in consequences as well as punishments also outlined in Article Sixteen Subsection Eleven.

 “Are you, or are you not, aware of these facts?” Michael blinked and nodded his head. He couldn’t speak. He hadn’t thought he could move either until his head moved of its own accord.

 “Good. Now, it has been brought to my attention that you have broken the rule against fraternizing with customers. Do you deny these allegations?” The fact that the Commander spoke through the whole conversation with such ease and calmness made Michael all the more on edge. It was too conversational and Michael could only assume it meant the worst was yet to come. He didn’t know what his punishment would be and he was petrified to find out. Michael shook his head though the rest of his body was rigid.

 “Alright, then.” Michael felt hands clamp down on his shoulders then and he swiveled his head around wildly to find two large, muscular men standing behind him. _When the fuck did they get there?_ Michael wondered. “Michael Jones,” the Commander spoke and, after realizing that struggling against the men did no good, he turned his attention back to the man behind the desk, who was now standing. “You’re sessions with 4948 have been terminated. A new member of Responsive Technology will be given to them and you shall be assigned a new Gamer.

 “The rest of your time here on the SS Galacticraft will be spent completing one play through with your new Gamer, after which you will be sent back to Earth. As part of your punishment, you will not receive your end-of-vocation payment, though you will receive compensation for the remainder of your time here on the ship. Do you understand these conditions?”

 Michael found it hard to think about anything because all he could feel was the fingers digging into his shoulders and upper arms. Why did they think he needed to be held down, anyway? Because of his anger? Michael may yell a lot, but that didn’t mean he was going to attack the Commander for confronting him about breaking the rules.

 Michael nodded again to answer the man and the Commander nodded as well. “Good,” he said, a word that started to rub Michael the wrong way. It was the tone he used, sort of condescending the way he drug it out a bit. It was trying too hard to be relaxed and had a harsh undertone; like he knew something Michael didn’t and relished the idea of torturing him with it. “The let’s proceed.” _Proceed? Proceed with what?_

 The arms clamped down harder and he watched as the Commander walked around his desk and toward Michael. “Hold back his head,” the Commander said before a new pair a hands jerked his chin up so all he could see was the bright light on the ceiling above him. How many fucking people were even in the room? Michael struggled against the multitude of hands, but the more he fought the harder they dug into his skin and Michael was sure he’d have some gnarly bruises later.

 “What are you going to do to me?” Michael heard himself ask. His voice was soaked with terror, confusion, desperation, frustration.

 “Do try to relax, Mr. Jones,” the Commander’s voice rang through the room. “Soon enough this will all be behind us.” Michael felt a prick at the nape of his neck and fear coursed through his brain as he realized it was an injection.

 XXX

 Michael remembered swirling colors and bright glowing lights. Soft movement. Murmurs. His dreams seemed to collide with reality and he couldn’t tell which way was up. Everything muddled together and he had a hard time figuring out whether he was asleep or awake. Finally he gave up on figuring it out as the colors beckoned to him. He held out his hand and succumbed to the beautiful swirls, felt like he was spinning and dancing along with them.

 A sharp voice rang through his mind. _They can’t do this_. Stop what? Who’s doing something? The voice sounded frantic and Michael wondered how anyone could ever be so upset. What was there to be worked up about? _They have to stop!_ The voice yelling made him feel tired and Michael assumed then that he was awake. _They can’t do this! We have to stop them! We have to fight!_

 Michael felt his subconscious sink deeper and the voice grow muffled as if he were going underwater. Deeper and deeper into the darkness as he left the voice behind. _Relax_ , he told the voice. _You’re going to be okay. Just relax._


	21. Chapter 21

Michael sat up in bed and immediately grabbed his skull as he let out a groan. He felt like his brain was ripping itself into shreds and the pain made him dizzy. “Michael?” a distant voice called, but he couldn’t make out who it was or where it was coming from. All he knew was that his head hurt and he just wanted it to stop.

 Michael felt someone take one of his hands and place something inside it, telling him to take it. Take what? Why? Michael felt someone lead his hand to his mouth and drop the object inside. It dissolved completely before Michael could even begin to wonder what it was, but a moment later the excruciating pain in his head began to dull to a slow throbbing and Michael let out a long breath of relief.

 As he opened his eyes, Michael saw Ray sitting on the edge of his bed, watching him worriedly. Michael looked away from his friend and around at the room. There were still a few people in bed and Michael assumed it was sometime in the morning. _What happened last night?_ Michael wondered to himself. “Jesus Christ,” he said, his voice sounded hoarse and his throat burned. He sounded absolutely terrible. “Did Geoff and I get hammed last night or something?” Ray looked almost sad. Why was Ray sad? Michael was about to ask him when the boy spoke.

 “Do you…what’s the last thing you remember?” he asked, sounded like he was trying to be cautious of something.

 “Oh God, what happened? Did I lose a leg or something? Am I dying?” Ray smiled at his joke, but it fell limp. The brightness didn’t reach his eyes and Michael knew something had definitely happened. “Ray, seriously, what the fuck?”

 “Just, humor me?” Michael blinked. He thought back to the previous day, but nothing had seemed out of the ordinary.

 “I had the day off. We all played Geoff’s shitty Creeper Soccer game.” Ray looked like he was trying to keep up his normal and casual appearance, but the fact that it fell so much put Michael that much more on edge. It had to be something huge if Ray was this worked up. “Ray, just tell me what happened, dude. And why the fuck do I sound like Freddy Krueger ripped my throat out?”

 “He’s alive!” a voice cried and Michael looked over to the doorway where Geoff stood, Jack and Ryan coming up behind him. “I honestly thought I might find your dead body this morning.” Michael blinked at him and Geoff came into the room and stood next to Michael’s bed. He looked over to Ray and asked, “Does he remember anything?” Ray shook his head and Geoff looked back to Michael with a smirk. “You got fucking wasted as shit, dude.” Was that why his head hurt so badly? He was just really hung over? Why did Ray seem so upset then? Michael knew the boy didn’t drink alcohol, but he’d never cared before when Michael and Geoff went drinking.

 “Yeah?” Michael asked, still unsure of everything. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten black-out drunk. He usually paced himself fairly well.

 “Yeah, it was pretty fucking funny.”

 “Was I screaming a lot or something?” he asked, still wondered how he tore up his throat. Geoff shrugged easily.

 “You gave everyone in the bar an impromptu concert. I wish I could’ve filmed it. You sat up on the counter and sang your little heart out,” Geoff said with a laugh. Michael couldn’t help but laugh as well. He knew he usually let loose and got singy when he was drunk and he could only imagine the train wreck he was last night.

 “Brandon says you’re going back to the standard alcohol restrictions,” Geoff continued. Michael frowned at that. Brandon was the ship’s barkeep and usually let Geoff and Michael get away with drinking way more than the usual allotment. Michael didn’t want to go back to the three-drink-minimum rule. “You give him something for his head?” Geoff asked Ray quietly and Ray nodded. “Good.” Michael scrunched up his nose at the word, though he wasn’t really sure why. “Hungry, buddy?” Geoff asked, spoke to Michael once again and Michael nodded.

 “Starving.” He hadn’t noticed just how hungry he was until the mention of food and he heard the low rumble of his stomach growling.

 “Then let’s go get something to eat.”

 XXX

 Michael made his way to the Floor room quickly as he thought about what his new Gamer would be like. Since he’d finished his sessions with his previous Gamer two days ago, he was set to get a new one. He hoped they’d be easier to get along with than the last one, who always called Michael “Computer” and assumed he knew more about the game than Michael did. It had taken everything in Michael’s power not to punch the guy in the face.

 As he reached Gus, Michael grinned. “Hey, Gus,” he said. Gus stared at him for a moment, a flicker of some unknown emotion flashed across his features before they were masked with his usual discontent.

 “Name?” Michael rolled his eyes.

 “Michael Jones. Don’t you recognize me yet, Gus?” He felt a slight sense of déjà vu but pushed it toward the back of his head, the thoughts disappearing just as easily as they’d come. Gus held his pad over Michael’s face until his files popped up and Gus regarded Michael through the glass.

 “You’re getting a new Gamer today.”

 “I know. Pretty exciting.” Gus tapped on the pad for a moment.

 “You’re new code is 2272.”

 “You’re not going to give me anything to write it down with?” Gus’s lips pressed into a thin line and Michael’s smile faltered. He didn’t look like normal Grumpy Gus. Something was off. Everyone seemed off today and Michael was confused.

 “Just repeat it back,” Gus said and Michael blinked.

 “2272,” he said immediately. He watched Gus for a moment longer before walking into the room beyond. Had Michael done something bad last night when he was drunk? Geoff said he’d only made a fool of himself singing, but people were definitely treating him differently and he wanted to know why. Michael sighed as he reached his pod, placed his hand on the scanner, and punched the code into the keypad. His pod door popped open and Michael slid his hands into his black gloves before sitting down and stretching himself. He wasn’t sure how long he’d end up being in session today but he wanted to make sure he was relaxed enough.

 Michael closed the pod lid over himself and felt his breath quicken and become shallow as he waited in the darkness. He always hated this moment. He felt like he was suffocating and couldn’t help imagining himself being trapped six feet under the dirt. He knew he was irrationally panicking, but that didn’t change the fact that everything seemed to close in around him.

 But then everything seemed to glow and Michael felt like he was floating inside a cloud. This was the part he always loved. Michael liked the weightless feeling of drifting into a session. But it was over swiftly and Michael found himself standing in a small den. There was a desk against one of the far walls with a computer screen above it and large couch took up most of the floor space. Art pieces littered the walls and Michael noticed a mirror as well that he caught his own reflection in. He took in his brown curls, square glasses, square shaped face and dimples, though his brown eyes looked tired.

 Michael shook his head and looked on the couch where a girl, most likely his age- around seventeen, sat sprawled out. She had blond hair and brown eyes and Michael had to admit, she was very pretty. Michael cleared his throat, though it didn’t burn like his throat on the ship and he was thankful for that. “Please state your tag for further identification,” he said, though he felt slightly ridiculous. Michael wished he could just be causal and talk normal to his Gamers, but when he’d yelled at his very first Gamer five years ago, it had been clear what kind of relationship RT wanted their AIs to have with their customers.

 “Blawndee,” he girl said with a smile. “But please, just call me Barbara.” Michael blinked. Most Gamers didn’t ask him to use their first name. First names were friendly, something AIs and Gamers weren't supposed to be. Michael nodded though. It wasn’t like it was against the rules or anything. It was just a name.

 “Alright, Barbara,” he said, testing out the name in his mouth. “What are we playing?”


	22. Chapter 22

Michael spent every day that next week in sessions with Barbara. They’d been playing a retro game called _The Last of Us_ and it hadn’t taken long to speed through it. Barbara was a fun Gamer. She called Michael by his name, which was absolutely absurd to Michael, and joked around a lot which Michael enjoyed. He even felt comfortable enough to crack a few jokes of his own every once in a while, though he would immediately reprimand himself each time. He wondered if they would be friends in different circumstances.

 Michael had exited out of another session with the Gamer when he’d been buzzed and looked down at his wristband quizzically. He knew he wasn’t being called in to see Barbara; he was still sitting up in his pod and there was a five hour waiting period before they could play again. He read the words that popped up and felt even more confused. He was being summoned by the Commander.

 In Michael’s five years on the ship he’d never once seen the Commander. In fact, he hadn’t been one-hundred percent sure there even _was_ a Commander. Part of him thought that maybe it was just this idea that RT liked to have looming over the heads of those in the AI Program as a sort of incentive to stay in line. But there he was being called in the see the man, or woman, themselves.

 As he made his way out of the Floor and back toward the lift, Michael wondered why he was being called in in the first place. Had he done something wrong? Michael hadn’t done much of anything lately except go to sessions and hang out in the Creation Room with the rest of Achievement Hunter. He couldn’t think of anything bad that he’d done, unless they were worried about him becoming familiar with his Gamer.

 He couldn’t see what the big deal was with that, though. Barbara was cool, but he wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with her. Michael had never really been into the prospect of dating. It seemed too intimate and Michael wasn’t sure he’d ever feel comfortable enough with another person to let himself let go completely like that. Besides, he’d heard of people getting involved with their Gamers and Michael had zero interest in becoming like them. Anyway, he was entirely content to stay single. He didn’t fell like he needed anyone else. But that didn’t mean that RT saw it that way.

 Michael sighed as Interface announced it would be taking him to see the Commander. He really hoped it was all just a misunderstanding and that everything would be fine.

 The doors opened up to a spacious room and Michael stepped out cautiously. There was no sign of life anywhere, but as he took a few steps further into the room a screen lit up on the far wall. GOOD AFTERNOON, MICHAEL JONES. THE COMMANDER IS EXPECTING YOU, blue lettering read. The words faded away and new once took their place, directing him to follow the hallway to his left and wait in the room directly at the end. Michael glanced at the hall hesitantly before making his way down it.

 As he walked he looked at the nondescript doors that popped up now and then on either side of the corridor and wondered what was behind them. He assumed they were offices of the higher ups that lived on the ship. The door at the end of the hallway opened on its own and Michael peered inside.

 The room was simple enough, dim lighting except for toward the back where a large ceiling light lit up a wide, glass desk. Behind the desk was a square leather chair and Michael stepped into the room before glancing around. No one else was there and he remembered the screen telling him to wait for the Commander.

 Michael bit his lip, not quite sure what to do, or why he was there, but he decided he might as well have a seat since he wasn’t sure how long he’d be waiting. He made his way further into the office and walked over to the desk, took the small seat in front of it and bounced his leg as he waited.

 “Mr. Jones,” a voice said and Michael jumped back up. A figure emerged from a door that materialized out of the wall behind the desk and Michael fleetingly wondered if the entire room had secret doors that broke off into hidden areas of the ship. A man walked toward him and held out a hand, which Michael shook immediately. He had brown hair, greying a little at the temples, square glasses, and a slight beard.

 “Please, take a seat,” the man said and Michael noticed the slight Southern accent. Michael did as he was told and the man walked back behind the desk and sat in the leather chair. “My name is Benjamin Moore. I am the resident Commander here on the SS Galacticraft.”

 “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Michael said, though he still wondered why they were meeting in the first place.

 “Likewise.” The Commander watched Michael for a moment before tapping the glass of his desk. “I’ve been going through your session log and discovered that you’ve been blazing through this new game with 2272.” Oh, God. So this was about his friendship with Barbara. How was Michael supposed to reassure the man that nothing was going on between them? He should’ve known better than to let his guard down, no matter how slightly. “I’ve been speaking to the other members here and we’re all very pleased with your performances over the past five years.

 “You’ve shown drive and initiative, and maintained your professional persona, which we all know must’ve been difficult for you.” He saw the Commander smile slightly and Michael felt his cheeks burn up when he remembered having to work with a counselor on his anger when he’d first arrived on the ship. “Which is why we’ve decided to prematurely terminate your stay here.” Michael blinked at the man. Wait, what?

 “So, you’re rewarding me…by sending me home?” If they really liked him so much, wouldn’t they ask him to stay longer?

 “We thought that you might enjoy that, yes. It’s been a few years since you’ve been on solid ground. We figured we’d give you the opportunity to return sooner than your original contract specified. However, if you wish to stay the rest of the year, we can-”

 “No, no!” Michael blurted loudy. He was about to apologize but the Commander simply smiled again.

 “Alright, then.” Was this really happening? They we’re going to be sending Michael home early. He would get to see his mom. His brother. His old friends. Michael’s thoughts swam with images of Earth and home and he felt himself swelling with happiness.

 “Wait,” Michael said suddenly. “How soon would I be going back?” He didn’t want to get too excited. What if they were only cutting his time by a month?

 “Well, you and 2272 are almost finished with Last of Us, correct?” Michael nodded.

 “We should finish in our next session.”

 “Then I suppose we’ll make that your day for Final Review.” Michael felt his eyes widen. Barbara would be his last Gamer. He only had one last session and then he’d be off the ship for good. He couldn’t believe it.

 “Oh my- _thank you_ , sir. Thank you so much,” Michael babbled. He was going home in a matter of days.

 “I’ll take that as a yes. We will notify your family and ensure they are prepared for your arrival in three days’ time.” Three days. Three fucking days and he would be free to live his life once again.

 Though he hadn’t completely hated his time on the ship, part of Michael had always wished he hadn’t accepted the offer to join the AI Program. He hated that he’d been dumb enough to agree to live on a spaceship for six years, though asking a twelve year old to make such an important decision was pretty fucked up on their part. He’d tried to make the best of it but, though he’d had fun with the Achievement Hunters and loved them like family, he’d spent the majority of his time counting down the days till he could go back home. It had always seemed so far away, but now he could almost taste the fresh air.

 “Excellent work, Mr. Jones.”

 XXX

 “You just had to one-up me didn’t you, asshole,” Geoff said. It was the next morning and Michael had just told them that he’d been called to see the Commander and that he was being released early. Michael had been slightly confused when no one seemed as shocked as he had been, but he ignored it easily enough and joked around with the other guys.

“I can’t believe you’re going home,” Jack said.

“I can’t either, to be honest.”

 “Seriously, though. You get to go home early for good behavior? I’m number one and I still have to be here another few years. That’s bullshit,” Ray said. Geoff slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a look, but Michael just laughed.

 “I think it’s fucking awesome,” Geoff said. “You’re going to visit me when I get back too, right?”

 “Hell yeah, Geoff. Where are you from again?” Geoff rolled his eyes.

 “Didn’t we _just_ have this conversation?” Michael thought back but he couldn’t recall any recent conversations about Earth.

 “Yeah, like last week,” Jack chimed in. That’s when everyone’s eyes widened a fraction, like they all realized they left for vacation and forgot to turn off the sprinklers.

 “Texas,” Geoff said quickly. Michael narrowed his eyes slightly. Why was everyone acting so weird? Were they hiding something from him? “I expect you’re little Jersey ass to throw me a welcome home party, too.”

 “Okay, seriously, what the fuck is going on?” Michael asked.

 “What?” Ryan asked.

 “You guys have been fucking weird lately and I want to know why.” Everyone watched him carefully and Michael felt like he was under inspection. He was getting extremely fed up with everyone dodging topics and walking on egg shells around him. He wanted to know what they knew and he wanted to know now. Unfortunately, his wrist band buzzed then. Michael let out a frustrated groan as he looked down and saw that he was being summoned to the Floor. He quickly clicked away the message and looked back up to glare at the four men around him. “This isn’t over,” he said with a glare before getting up and heading to the lift.

 Once he reached the Floor room, Michael saw a woman waiting next to his pod. _Oh yeah,_ he thought, _time for my last review on the ship._ Michael stood up a little taller as he made his way up the steps, excited to get through his last session. Once he reached the woman she turned and smiled brightly at him. She had brown eyes and bright pink hair. “Hello, Mr. Jones. I’m Ms. Turney; I’ll be reviewing you today.”

 “Sweet,” Michael said. He side stepped past her and typed the code into his keypad before opening the pod lid and sitting down. He grabbed the black gloves and slid them over his hands before laying back and making himself comfortable.

 “Have a good session,” Ms. Turney said before closing the lid over him. Michael forced himself to keep his breathing somewhat regular as he waited in the darkness, but he could feel the panic rising in his chest. _Breathe._ He closed his eyes and listened to his heartbeat until he began floating.

 “Hey!” Barbara greeted as he appeared in her house. “Ready to kick some Infected ass?” Michael scrunched up his face but grinned. Though he knew what she meant by Infected, it sounded a little weird.

 “Absolutely,” he said, pulled up the game with his pad and spawned her where they’d ended last. She was currently playing as the character Joel, a middle aged man leading a teenage girl across the United States in search for the Fireflies, a society bent on finding a cure for the zombie outbreak that occurred twenty years ago.

 Michael guided Barbara through tunnels and abandoned houses, though she didn’t really seem to need the help. He even noticed that she was doing a little too well in the game and began to spawn more Infected around her area so she’d have a bit more of a challenge.

 About two hours later, Barbara and Michael watched the last cut scene of the game. Michael was practically buzzing with excitement by then. He was done. He never had to go into another session ever again. He was glad he’d had Barbara as his last. She was really into the game and wasn’t one of those annoying Gamers that liked to fuck around with the environments rather than play the game.

 “Okay, that game was fucking awesome,” Barbara said as the credits began to roll. Michael grinned at her.

 “Yeah it was. I’m actually kind of disappointed in myself that I hadn’t heard of it before our sessions.” Barbara’s brows rose at that.

 “Wait, really?” Michael nodded.

 “Hey, Barbara! Your mum let me in,” a loud voice called as the door to the den opened and a boy froze as he stepped inside. He had dark blond hair that stuck up randomly over the top of his head, green eyes, and a rather large nose that in all honesty shouldn’t have been as attractive as it was.

 Michael blinked as the boy stared straight at him, eyes wide and mouth agape. _Why is he looking at me like that?_ Michael wondered, but he felt a slight pull toward him. He didn’t know what it was but every fiber in his being was telling him run forward and wrap his arms around him. It was one of the weirdest feelings he’d ever experienced. “Michael?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. The boy had a heavy British accent that made Michael’s knees feel weak.

 “Gavin?” Barbara asked. _Gavin?_  The name sounded so goddamn familiar and Michael’s brain started to throb dully.

 “Michael,” Gavin said again, still frozen in place and seemingly unable to take his eyes off of Michael. The pain in his head began to sharpen with each passing moment. _Gavin? Why does that name sound so familiar?_ The more he stared at the boy, the more he felt like he should know who he was.

 Michael furrowed his brows deeply. His head hurt like hell and he was almost worried it might split in half, but he kept wracking his brain. _Who the hell are you, Gavin?_ The boy before him broke from his trance and made his way toward him. He looked so…emotional. Gavin looked sad and happy and relieved and- something else he couldn’t put his finger on. Michael didn’t know who Gavin was, but he was pretty fucking sure that Gavin knew him.

 “What the hell is going on?” Barbara asked from her position on the couch. “Wait, _this_ is Michael?”

 “What?” Michael asked, looking over at Barbara though it was becoming harder to see. The pain in his skull was still growing stronger and it took all of Michael’s strength not to drop to his knees. “ _Who’s_ Michael? What the fuck is going on right now?” he yelled. The burning in his head confused him. It felt a lot like it had a week ago when Michael woke up after his night with Geoff, but he wasn’t hung-over and the pain was much worse.

 “Michael, it’s me,” he heard Gavin say, but he sounded like he was getting further and further away. “It’s me, boi.” Michael’s hands flew to his hair and he clutched at the strands tightly. Why wouldn’t the pain go away? Why wouldn’t it just go away? “It’s Gavin. Michael, please, love,” Gavin continued. His voice was too worried, too caring, too sad, and Michael didn’t know why but all he wanted was to reach out to him and tell him everything was okay.

 “Gavin?” Michael said, speaking the name aloud for the first time before letting out a straggled cry. The pain in his head was becoming unbearable and he could feel his consciousness slipping. Barbara’s room disappeared from under him and all he could see was darkness. Michael pushed up his hands and felt them connect with the lid of his pod and he threw it open.

 “Michael? Michael, can you hear me?” a female voice spoke. He wanted to answer but he couldn’t; all he could do was cry out in agony. He didn’t know why he was still conscious or why his brain was shredding itself.

 Michael felt someone hands on his mouth and something drop onto his tongue. He tried to fight it but a moment later the pain began to subside and all he could do was lay limply in his pod as exhaustion replaced the pain. He felt numb. In reality the pain probably only lasted a minute or two but it felt like days to Michael.

 He kept his eyes closed as he breathed. _What the fuck was that? What the_ fuck _was that?!_ He was scared. Scared of his own mind because he didn’t know what was going on. Was he sick? Was something wrong with him? Was that why everyone was being so weird around him?

 Michael felt his body shutter softly as he lay there. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he cracked one of his eyes open to see a woman knelt beside him, watching him worriedly.

 “Why didn’t you cut the session sooner?” he croaked out. She’d seen everything that happened in Barbara’s house, but she hadn’t pulled him out of it. She shook her head; her worried expression mixed shocked confusion.

 “I couldn’t, Michael,” she said softly. Michael was vaguely aware of the other bodies crowded around the two of them but they spoke quietly enough so only they could hear. “You wouldn’t let me.” Michael closed his eyes again as he thought. How was that even possible? Reviewers had the capability of ending any session; she should’ve been able to without any problems. Michael couldn’t figure out why she would lie about it, though. _You wouldn’t let me_ , he replayed in his mind. Could he actually do that?

 As if hearing his thoughts, Ms. Turney continued. “It was like you wanted to be there. I tried terminating the session countless times but your subconscious couldn’t let me break the connection.”  Michael looked at her again as he thought of another question he wanted to ask her.

 “That guy, Gavin. Do you know who he is?” She bit her lip and seemed to consider her next words carefully.

 “Do you?” Michael shook his head, the nervousness and fear creeping into his mind once again.

 “No,” he whispered. _And that’s what worries me the most._


	23. Chapter 23

As Michael stood with the rest of Achievement Hunter just outside the loading area for his drop ship, he admitted to himself that was a little sad. Not to be leaving the ship, but to be leaving his friends. Michael never imagined he’d meet people on SS Galacticraft that he would care for so much. “I’m going to miss you, champ,” Ray said as he pulled Michael into a hug. Michael squeezed back.

 “I’m going to miss you, too, Ray.” They held on a little longer before Michael pulled back, only to be dragged into another hug, this time by Geoff. “I’ll see you in a few weeks,” Michael said. He had Geoff had already discussed Michael coming to visit him in Austin when they were both back on Earth.

 “See you soon, buddy.” Geoff pulled back and shoved Michael’s shoulder before joining Ray off to the side. Jack walked up then and engulfed him in a big bear hug.

 “See you in a few years,” Jack said. He had three more years and was scheduled to leave the ship around the same time as Ray.

 “You and Ray take care of each other.” The two pulled away from each other and Jack moved away as Ryan stepped up and hugged him as well. Neither said a word, though, until they stepped back. “Thanks, Ryan,” he said simply. Ryan had been his mentor when he’d first arrived on the ship. He’d given him advice and tips and, without Ryan, he never would’ve met Jack and Geoff. Michael didn’t even want to think about how different things would’ve been if he’d never met Ryan. Ryan ruffled Michael’s hair affectionately and Michael swatted his hand away with a grin.

 Michael took a deep breath, looked around at the open room before him. _Thanks,_ he thought. Now that it was finally over, Michael thought back to all the moments he’d had on the ship and realized that maybe the stay hadn’t been all that bad at all.

 The previous night Michael had been called up to the Responsive Technology offices once again, as did the other six people who would be sent home today with Michael. They signed release papers and had the standard end-of-vocation procedure, which basically took away any memories from inside sessions.

 Michael had been lying out on a reclined chair in a small office, bright lights everywhere making it hard to see what anything was. “Alright, Michael,” a woman said. She held a small square device only a couple inches long, and asked him to turn his head away from her. “You’re going to feel a slight pinch.” Michael jumped slightly when the cold metal touched his bare skin, then inhaled sharply when he felt the prick. Michael couldn’t help but think the whole ordeal was faintly familiar, but before he could think anymore his vision began to swim and he lost consciousness.

 “Ready to go, Mr. Jones?” a voice called and Michael felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked behind him to see a man standing there, one of the crew members who would be riding down with them. Michael nodded and turned back to his friends.

 “See you on the other side,” he said. He gave them all one more wave before turning to enter the smaller drop ship.

 “Michael!” Michael froze and turned around as a woman ran up to him. He watched her curiously as she caught her breath for a moment before pressing her lips against his. Michael’s eyes flew wide open as he stood frozen. She pulled away after a brief moment. “I had to do that before you left,” she said shyly. It wasn’t how he’d imagined his first kiss going, and if he was being completely honest, he felt a little awkward. She was cute, and it was an okay kiss, but it felt weird. Wrong almost.

 Michael cleared his throat and she blushed slightly. “Um, have a safe flight,” she said, then turned and walked off to stand to the side. Michael raised his brows as he looked at his friends standing just a few feet away and Geoff gave him a thumbs-up. Michael bit the inside of his cheek and turned on his heel, not wanting to give any further comments.

 He ducked his head and stepped inside the ship. There were about ten seats inside and Michael took an open seat toward the back and strapped himself if. He had been the last to enter and after he was settled in one of the crew members closed the door from the outside after wishing them all luck back on Earth.

 “Everyone buckled in?” a voice called from the front of the ship and Michael assumed it was the pilot. “Set course for New York. Estimated time of arrival is 14:00.” Michael heard the sound of grinding metal and he was jerked slightly in his chair as the smaller ship detached itself from Galacticraft. He heard the soft wisp of the thruster igniting and he closed his eyes as they made their way toward Earth.

 XXX

 Michael squinted at the harsh sunlight as he stepped out of Responsive Technology Cosmo Center. He felt the heat of the rays as they seeped into his pores and took in a deep breath of air. It wasn’t as fresh as he remembered, but Michael inhaled deeply, savoring the scent. He couldn’t believe he was finally home.

 He looked around at the surroundings. In front of the Center was a long concrete strip that led off to other areas of Responsive Technology such as office buildings, development warehouses, simulation rooms. Further down the strip Michael could see a fountain shooting water two stories in the air. Trees were placed every so often and Michael forgot just how _green_ trees were. Between some of the trees were giant glass screens promoting new games from RT, welcoming people like Michael back home, and wishing others  safe travel up to SS Galacticraft.

 “Michael!” he heard a voice call and Michael looked over to see his mom running toward him.

 “Mom?” He felt a surge of desperation and ran toward her, not stopping till he was right in front of her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and she held him back just as strongly.

 “My beautiful baby boy,” she whispered softly and Michael buried his face into her shoulder as he breathed in the smell of her. It brought back memories of being a kid and sitting on her bathroom sink as she got ready for work. He remembered staying up late until his mom got home from work and watching television with her until he feel asleep on the couch.

 Michael had missed his mom but he hadn’t realized just how much until that moment and he held her even tighter. She kissed his hair and ran her fingers through his curls softly as Michael felt tears of relief slip out of the corners of his eyes.

 He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that but eventually his mom pulled back his face and kissed his forehead before looking at his face. “You’ve grown into such a handsome young man,” she said and Michael noticed she’s been crying as well. He looked over his mom’s face as well and noticed how much older she looked. Her soft brown curls were pulled back into loose bun and he could clearly see the wrinkles around her eyes and corners of her mouth. Her brown eyes shone brightly, though, and she smiled at him as she seemed to study his features as well.

 “It’s clear to see who the favorite is,” Michael heard and his mom rolled her eyes. Michael looked behind his mom to see his brother standing there next to a woman. Michael’s mother pulled away and his brother stepped up and threw his arms around Michael, who instantly hugged him back. “Good to see you again, bro,” he said and Michael smiled. “And this is my fiancée, Sarah,” he said, introducing Michael to the woman when they parted.

 “It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she said, holding out a hand to him. Michael looked at it for a moment before wrapping his arms around her as well. She let out a short laugh and hugged him back.

 “I can’t fucking believe you’re engaged,” Michael said when they pulled away and his brother wrapped an arm around Sarah’s waist. Ms. Jones gave him a halfhearted look for cursing, but she didn’t seem to mind too much.

 “We would’ve been married already but we wanted to wait for you to come home,” Sarah said and Michael’s brother gave her a look.

 “I thought we weren’t going to tell him that,” his brother said and Michael snickered. He and his brother had never been overly affectionate toward each other. When they were kids and Michael’s mom was at work, they’d usually fight a lot. Michael would be in the living room playing video games and his brother would come in and change the channel on the screen in the middle of the game.

 Michael would start yelling at his brother, who would yell back. Michael would always lose, being three years younger meant three years weaker, and would stomp off to his room and do the homework he should’ve done the day before. He’d stay in there, steaming mad at his brother, until the older boy would come in and invite him out for dinner. Since neither of them knew how to cook, it was usually macaroni and cheese. Afterward his brother would sometimes challenge him to a video game until he got a phone call from a friend and would leave Michael alone for the night until their mom got home a few hours later.

 Michael grinned at the two but felt a pang of sadness. They looked so in love and Michael couldn’t figure out why that made him so upset. He was happy for them, truly he was. He was glad his brother had found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and that she seemed to feel the same way about him. He’d always enjoyed the idea of love- the thought that everyone had a soulmate who was destined to care for care for them unconditionally, accept their faults, and stick by their side no matter what. Michael thought it sounded nice, even if he didn’t fully believe it was realistic.

 As a kid Michael had thought people in romantic movies were idiotic. The only relationship he’d seen in reality had been torn apart after a few years and he felt that anyone who assumed theirs would end differently was an idiot. But since then he’d known people who were married and so very in love with their spouses and he wasn’t one-hundred percent sure he knew what love was anymore. He wasn’t so set on the idea that it was doomed, but he also wasn’t convinced it was everlasting.

 No matter how he viewed the world of relationships, though, he could see his brother believed in it and that was all that mattered. It still didn’t explain why he felt so disheartened by their relationship though.

 Michael felt a pair of eyes on him and saw a boy his age standing a little behind his family, his blond hair catching the sunlight. Michael furrowed his brows at him, though he recognized the face instantly. “Kerry?” Michael walked around his folks and toward the boy. Kerry was talking to another guy, but when he approached Kerry turned to face him, as did the other boy. Michael looked between the two curiously, wondering what their connection was. Kerry grinned at Michael, as did the other boy. _Is this…Kerry’s boyfriend?_

 Michael looked the boy up and down. Wild blond hair, green eyes, about an inch or two taller than Michael himself. He had to admit, the guy was hot. _Well done, Kerry_. “Hi,” he said and Michael raised a brow at the British accent. _Hot_ and _British? Bravo, Kerry. Bravo._

 “Hey. I’m Michael,” he said, extending a hand. The boy’s grin fell slightly but it was back before he really even noticed it disappear and Michael wondered if he’d just imagined it.

 “I’m Gavin,” he said as he took Michael’s hand and shook it. Michael smiled as he looked into his bright green eyes. He could definitely get lost in those eyes. Michael shook his head and dropped Gavin’s hand.

 “So, uh, how long have you two been…” Michael trailed off.

 “No!” Gavin said quickly. “No, we’re not- we aren’t-” Michael bit his lip to hide his amusement as he watched the boy scramble.

 “We’re not dating,” Kerry said simply, causing Gavin to stop his rambling. “Actually, remember Stacy?” Michael thought back to Kerry’s crush he’d had since first grade. “We’ve kind of been together for a couple years now.”

 “Seriously?” Michael asked, happy for his friend. “Jesus, did everyone get together when I left?” Honestly, you leave for five years.

 “What about you?” Kerry asked. “Break any hearts up there?” Michael couldn’t help but snort.

 “Oh, you know me, Kerry,” he said as he wiggled his brows. Kerry smiled.

 “So no?” Michael stopped and glared at his friend.

 “Nah.” Michael noticed that Gavin seemed to be slightly uncomfortable and decided to bring him back into the conversation. “So how do you two know each other?”

 “We just ran into each other a few minutes ago,” Kerry said. Michael nodded.

 “Are you going up?”

 “To the ship? No,” Gavin said. “I’d been offered to but I turned it down.”

 “Really? Why? The ship’s fucking awesome.” Gavin shrugged easily but his eyes said the conversation was anything but.

 “I knew someone up there who told me not to.”

 “What? That’s fucking stupid. Don’t listen to them. If you want to go, you should. Don’t let anyone else make the decision for you.” Gavin bit his lip and nodded.

 “Choosing to stay felt like the better option,” he said softly. Michael could tell that something was bothering Gavin but he didn’t feel like it was his place to ask. He’d only just met the guy, it’d be weird to ask him all about his problems and shit. Michael felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see his mom standing behind him.

 “You boys ready to head home?” she asked. Kerry nodded and he assumed he’d ridden down to the Center with them. She looked over at Gavin curiously. “Hello,” she greeted warmly.

 “Uh, Mom, this is Gavin,” he introduced. Gavin smiled at her, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

 “Hello, Ms. Jones,” he said.

 “Are you coming over as well?” she asked. Michael shrugged at Gavin letting him know he could if he wanted. Michael usually wasn’t the best at making friends but he felt an odd sort of connection to the boy. Gavin shook his head, though, to Michael’s disappointment.

 “No, I should be heading home,” he said. “Thank you, though.”

 “Alright, then. Let’s get a move on, kids. Everyone’s waiting at home to see you,” his mom said. She began to walk back down the strip and the others followed, but Michael was still frozen in his spot, staring at Gavin.

 “You sure you don’t want to come?” he asked. Part of him didn’t want to let the boy leave.

 “I don’t think it’d be right,” Gavin said sadly. “But I’m glad I got to see you again.” Michael furrowed his brows. He was pretty sure he’d never met Gavin before. “My lovely little Michael.” Gavin stepped forward and pressed his lips to Michael’s cheek before stepping back and walking away. Michael blinked. Okay, that was definitely odd. Michael watched in confusion as the boy walked away, part of him wanted to call him back but another part worried what would happen if he did.

 “Michael?” he heard Kerry call and Michael shook his head before looking away from Gavin and over to where his family was, halfway to the fountain.

 “Coming!” Michael called. He took one look back at Gavin before turning and jogging to catch up to the others.


	24. Chapter 24

Michael shifted his weight between his legs as he waited impatiently for someone to answer the door. He’d been back on Earth for only four months, but so much had happened. The first week he’d spent meeting grandparents, neighbors, and old acquaintances. He didn’t really care for all the formalities himself but everyone else seemed thrilled to speak with the former AI.

 Starting his second week, Michael went for lots of walks and drives around town. Sometimes he’d go down to the park and watch the leaves on the trees sway in the wind. Other times he’d stop by the local coffee shop and people watch. Sometimes he didn’t have a destination. He just liked to wander and observe.

 It wasn’t until he’d been home for a month and a half that he went to visit Geoff in Texas. It had been nice being home and seeing his family, but it was a different happiness to see Geoff again. Seeing his old friends and family reminded him of when he was a kid. They expected him to still be the old Michael he was before he left for the ship.

 But he wasn’t that Michael anymore. Not completely. Being on the ship had changed him. He’d grown up a lot on the ship and it was bound to influence him in one way or another. Seeing Geoff felt like a breath of fresh air because he was one of the people who knew Michael _now_ rather than who he used to be.

 Michael had only meant to stay a few days, but he’d ended up staying longer than that. Geoff, and his wife Griffon, had insisted that he stay for a few days more, which ended up turning into another week. But they didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

 Life with the Ramsey’s was great. During the day he and Geoff would dick around and play video games. Sometimes he’d go with Griffon down to the Fort, an old sort of mill, and watch her carve sculptures out of wood. At night they’d have dinner together, maybe go out for drinks afterward or watch a movie. Michael felt a little guilty that he found himself thinking less and less about his family back in Jersey.

 “You know,” Geoff said one afternoon as Michael watched him grill steaks in the backyard. He had confessed to the man about not wanting to leave Austin. “You _could_ move out here.” Michael sighed. He wanted to, more than anything, but he worried about his family. His mom was so excited that he was home and he didn’t want to upset her by moving away. He expressed that to Geoff and the man rolled his eyes.

 “Michael, you gotta stop worrying about other people and live your life for you. I don’t know if your mom will be upset if you decide to move out here, but if she does she’ll get over it. I promise you she will. If you make your decisions based on her reactions, or anyone else’s, the only person you’re negatively affecting is yourself.” _If you want to do it, do it. Don’t let anyone else make the decision for you_. Hadn’t he said something similar to that guy he met at the Cosmo Center? Maybe it was time he followed his own advice.

 The next day Michael had called him mom and told her he was going to move to Austin. She’d been surprised, and a little sad, but she told him if that’s what he wanted then he should do it. She just wanted him to be happy.

 Geoff and Griffon told Michael he was free to stay with them as long as he wanted, as long as he needed, but he promised himself he wouldn’t invade their lives for too long. He started looking up apartments the next day.

 A week later, Michael and Geoff had been playing video games on the couch while Griffon made them cocktails in the kitchen. “Geoff, you fucking mingy prick!” Michael cried. They had been infiltrating an enemy camp when Geoff was caught by a search light that alerted every one of their presence.

 “Oh shit!” Geoff cried. The two tried to run away but they were caught easily enough and murdered by enemy soldiers.

 “Fuck me,” Michael muttered. Geoff laughed before turning to Michael.

 “What did you call me?” Michael blinked.

 “Uh, I don’t know, what did I call you?” he knew he’d just said something but he couldn’t remember what. He’d just been in the moment and yelled whatever popped in his head.

 “Like a ‘mingy prick’ or something.” Michael shrugged and laughed, but it died out soon after. Since coming to Austin, Michael had found himself seeing random images and flickers, like memories trying to resurface in his mind but every time he tried to grab ahold of one it’d disappear. He didn’t know where they came from. Sometimes it’d be a word or phrase. Other times it’d be a feeling or emotion. Every once in a while he’d see a familiar face, but before he could remember who they were he’d forget what he’d just seen. It was incredibly frustrating. When Geoff said “mingy prick” it made him feel weird, kind of like that indescribable sadness he had when he’d first seen his brother with his fiancée, but he couldn’t figure out why a phrase would make him feel like that. “You okay, buddy?” Geoff asked.

 Michael looked over at him and sighed. “Geoff,” he began, not sure how to word it but he wanted to talk about it with someone. “Do you think it’s possible to remember sessions?” he asked. It was the only logical explanation he could come up with. Maybe the blocks in his mind weren’t strong enough and he was getting shards of memories from gaming on the ship. Geoff shrugged.

 “What do you remember?”

 “Not much,” he admitted. Geoff put down his pad and turned toward Michael.

 “Maybe something happened that you don’t want to forget.” Michael scoffed.

 “What could’ve possibly happened in a session that I’d want to remember _that_ much?”

 “You’d be pretty fucking surprised,” Geoff muttered, but Michael heard him.

 “Geoff,” he said, staring at him seriously. “Do you know something?”

 “I’m not telling you shit,” Geoff said. Griffon walked in then with two glasses in her hands.

 “What’s going on?” she asked.

 “Michael thinks I’m being a mingy prick.”

 “You are! Does Griffon know, too?”

 “Know what?” she asked, completely lost.

 “Whatever the fuck happened to me up there!” Michael was getting frustrated and couldn’t help but raise his voice. Geoff and Griffon shared a look and he assumed that was a yes. Michael stood up with a huff and tossed his pad on the couch before walking out of the room, mumbling that he needed some air before stepping out onto the front porch. Michael walked over to the steps and sat down on the top one, closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

  _What the hell is going on?_ Michael wondered. He tried to think, to access the memories by force, and after a moment an image started to take form. It was a small bedroom, dimly lit though Michael could make out a raised bed and a dresser. In the middle of the room was a couch and sitting on top of it was a figure. He tried to make out if they were male or female but the image started to fade already. Michael furrowed his brows and pushed further into the image, trying to figure out who the person was and why the hell they kept popping up in Michael’s head.

 His head began to throb lightly, a slight pressure that drummed in his skull, but Michael pushed harder. The figure started to take more prominent features the harder he focused, thinking of nothing but the person sitting on that couch.

 It was Gavin, he realized; it was the boy he’d met at the center. _Why the fuck am I thinking about him?_ Michael wondered when suddenly the throbbing turned to searing pain. Michael held his head between his knees and wrapped his hands back as he clutched at his hair, groaned sharply between gritted teeth as the pain brought on a series of images. Images of himself and Gavin that were clear as day.

 He and Gavin were sitting in Gavin’s bedroom on two chairs, giggling and playing video games. Another image flashed of himself watching Gavin as the boy lip his lip in concentration. Replaced by Gavin’s body pressed against his as he kissed Michael eagerly. Then it was the two of them sitting close together on Gavin’s couch as they played, Gavin’s legs draped over Michael’s. Next was Gavin falling asleep on the couch and Michael carefully placed a blanket over him. Holding hands. Cuddling. Laughing. Kissing. Joking. Yelling. Playing.

 The images finally ceased and Michael was left in a blur of Gavin Free. How could he have ever forgotten Gavin Fucking Free? Michael took a moment to catch his breath as he thought back to all the time they’d spent together. He even remembered being at Barbara’s and seeing Gavin. Gavin had looked so desperate and worried. Michael couldn’t fucking believe he hadn’t recognized the boy then. Or at the Center. Gavin had come to see him when he got back home and he didn’t even fucking know who he was.

 Michael felt like he was going to throw up.

 He distantly heard the front door open and close before someone sat down beside him and placed a hand on his back. “Michael,” Geoff said, “are you okay?” Michael was still reeling from the pain in his head, which thank fucking Christ had stopped when the rush of memories died down, and he felt dizzy. He also felt terrible about forgetting everything. He knew it wasn’t his fault but all he could see was the pained look on Gavin’s face.

 Yeah, he was definitely going to throw up.

 Michael stood up in a rush, which only helped the vertigo, and he ran over to a bush just in time to double-over and throw up his lunch. He kept heaving until nothing came out, eyes red and watery and his throat burned. Michael sat down on the grassy lawn and looked over to Geoff who was standing at the bottom of the steps watching him worriedly. “I need help,” Michael said, an idea blooming in his head. He felt like shit, but there was no fucking way he was wasting any more time.

 “Anything,” Geoff said, walked over and offered Michael a hand up. Michael took it, though he wasn’t completely ready to stand yet, and looked Geoff in the eye.

 “We need to find Gavin.”

 And that’s how Michael found himself standing on the supposed porch of Gavin Free, waiting extremely impatiently for someone to answer the door. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait too long. Gavin stood there, door half open, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. “M-Michael?” he stuttered out. Michael felt like a million butterflies were fluttering around in his stomach and chest but he swallowed thickly and smiled as he stared at his boi.

 “Hey, Gavvy.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Press Start [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7339528) by [Sandstripe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandstripe/pseuds/Sandstripe)




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